Melanie Dulaney > Recent Status Updates

Ava-13
Harley-about the same age; always cheerful “like he has the spirit of Big Bird trapped inside him.” :)

Ava’s mom died when she was 10, dad left a few months later, Uncle Pete is her guardian.

Set in 2240ish in a time after society crashed and was reborn with droids, a central company running everything, productivity ratings ruling every action and LifeCorp facilitating control using a mind-altering drug called Mean.

Liv is a reader and lover of ancient print books and has already referenced Phantom Tollbooth, Station Eleven and the entire Legendborn series.

The Greg/Greta, Ronald/Rachel, Antonio/Antonia listings on the court docket do NOT indicate gender fluidity but allows the trial participants to choose which gender will place each part.

LBGTQ+ rep: Co-head of the mock trial team, Tessa, has a girlfriend; The plaintiff in the mock trial case is Greg/Greta Jordan, implying gender fluid????

Underage drinking at senior Lorenzo’s party of high students at Bright’s Academy.

Reference to a school “bad boy” who is rumored to have slept w/half the senior class and the other half wishing he would sleep with them.

Siya-sophomore, private school
Max/Grace-best friends since 4th grade when Siya lost her mom in car accident

Brooklyn-AAPI (based on food references)
Rheya-Black (based on box braids)
Ezra-dark skin and hair (book cover illustration)
Selah-autistic
Noa-counselor, autistic, long COVID victim with mobility difficulties

Both Brooklyn and Rheya reference racial slurs and/or ugly comments about appearance.

Plot inconsistencies/holes-

*cell phone signal in the waterways/swamps of the Everglades is known to be non-existent yet it works reliably in all areas noted in book so far.

*Noa’s loss of faith in her sheriff uncle was well established and yet she easily trusts him about keeping the body and the Starlight discoveries a secret from everyone, including her father.

Underage drinking. Noa is 18 and her drinking beer is implied. Shawn’s is the only clearly stated drinking and her age is less definite.

How many times is the author going to use the verb “hums” for the way people and places sound as they communicate?! Excessive and redundant plus surprising as the author is a high school English teacher.

Tech Mendez-may be Latine based on name, cuisine at mom’s restaurant but no real evidence

No significant physical or cultural references to ID race in any main characters only notes about their good looks, height, build. Only Hailey’s skin is described, putting her in the Caucasian category.

Significant profanity, including F-bombs.

Willis Shine

Willis and best friends Harrison Choi and Galaxi Katzenberg are 12.

Kosal’s grandparents were refugees from Cambodia via Thailand on their way to Maine.

Read alikes: One Kid’s Trash (Sumner), Me and Marvin Gardens (King), Hoot (Hiassen)

Rory & Jack-12
Mira-5

Neighbors Jack & Mira: Korean-American

Rory-Japanese American

Readalike/Jewish culture: Aviva and Dybbuk-Mari Lowe

Benji was adopted at age 3 from an orphanage “on the other side of the world; now 11.

In the last few chapters, the low level and infrequent profanity has changed to several F-bombs just two pages apart.

Great premise, Intrigue ebbs/flows, sometimes getting bogged down in lots of background angst of characters that has already been clearly established; waiting to see if I pegged murderer at the beginning or if that character will soon die like another suspect already has.

So far, profanity level low, no sexual content. Beck is trans but that fact almost seems superfluous, violence fairly lowkey considering genre.

Beck-trans (simple statement at this point), synesthesia that manifests as a taste in his mouth for every person’s voice, parents incurred massive debt

Adi-uninvolved, self-absorbed mother who finagled his appearance on show; shy

Carter-online sensation for her puzzle solving and contemporary avatar but IRL is very awkward

Sierra-angry former contestant suspected of killing her sister in previous season.

Is the Middle School director, Jen, supposed to be this irritating, over-wordy, and almost passive-aggressive in her delivery? Unless she changes, I think I’ve found my character to dislike! And that isn’t a negative as I always like to have one of those and generally they change over time and reveal some good traits, too!

Representation notes:

Characters with heritages from all over-Honduras, Nepal, an Arabic-speaking country, references to Hispanic backgrounds

One neighbor sews beautiful clothes such as quinceañera and drag queen dresses; a sister has shared her preference for girls & the student wants to give her the gift of always having her back even if the world is harsh to her because of her choice.

Info not only about the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression but tidbits about notable people in the 30s such as Babe Ruth, Jesse Owens, and Amelia Earhart.

I am finding it difficult to read Ellie’s story because I know there are many out there who say and do the incredibly damaging things that her mom does. I am both angry and heartbroken. Conversely, I am so thankful for my parents who made some mistakes, but not anything that cut as deeply as the slices made to this sixth grader.

Another comp-Rebecca Stead’s The Experiment