The Wig in the Window

August 5, 2013
"We'd only been running night missions since the start of the school year, when Grace had decided twelve was the right age to train for a real FBI career," says seventh-grader Sophie Young about the midnight spy exercises she conducts with her best friend, Grace Yang, in their sleepy town of Luna Vista, Calif. On one such night, they witness what appears to be their odd school counselor, Dr. Charlotte Agford, murdering someone in her kitchen. Armed with gadgets, Grace's full-speed-ahead attitude, and wisdom from Sun Tzu's The Art of War, the none-too-similar best friends work together to solve the mystery, which comes to light through a series of red herrings that maintain tension. First in a planned series, Kittscher's debut novel addresses the inevitable rocky periods in middle-school friendships with perceptiveness, honesty, and well-targeted humor that avoids being cartoonish. The two would-be sleuths navigate one ludicrous predicament after another, and readers should sympathize with the girls as an innocent bit of espionage lands them in some serious hot water. Ages 8â12. Agent: Jennifer Laughran, Andrea Brown Literary.

Starred review from August 1, 2013

Gr 4-7-Twelve-year-old Sophie Young and her best friend, Grace Yang, have been sneaking out of their houses for midnight spy missions in hopes of catching criminals on the FBI's Most Wanted list. What has seemed like a game suddenly becomes serious when they stumble through the yard of Sophie's school counselor and witness her chopping wildly with a cleaver. Although it turns out that Dr. Agford was merely cutting up beets for her latest batch of pickled vegetables, Sophie and Grace still suspect that she is hiding something sinister. As the girls try to discern the truth, Sophie finds herself in situations both awkward and terrifying, and she wonders if her friendship with Grace will last through their investigation. This fast-paced, action-packed romp has all the ingredients of a great mystery, and it does not leave out the angst felt by so many middle schoolers. Readers will see themselves and their friends in Sophie and her classmates, and they will have a difficult time tearing themselves away.-Sarah Reid, Broome County Public Library, Binghamton, NY

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2013
Mayhem ensues when 12-year-olds Grace and Sophie spot the school counselor in the act of bloody murder. The friends have been sneaking around on imaginative, late-night spying missions for some time, but they've been pretty tame. This changes when they see the already mysterious, cloyingly sweet and very unpleasant Dr. Agford attacking something--somebody?--with a streaming red cleaver, overhear her suspicious phone conversation and then decide to call 911. The call is traced to Sophie's phone, and she takes full blame, since it turns out Agford was apparently just chopping beets. The girls, though, still think she's up to something. Agford decides to begin "counseling" Sophie to keep tabs on her, kids at school begin to harass her, and the suspense ratchets up as the girls investigate the counselor's background--and her bizarre wig. An FBI agent who at first seems likely to help begins to look threatening. Sensible and smart but socially ostracized fellow student Trista proves to be the voice of reason as Sophie's world begins to fall apart. Sophie's first-person narration rings true and makes the growing peril feel ominously real. Ample red herrings keep young sleuths and engaged readers guessing in this thrilling debut mystery. Reminiscent of the ever-compelling film Rear Window, this appealing and often spine-tingling tale will leave its audience wishing for more. (Mystery. 11-13)

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May 1, 2013
Grades 5-7 On their third midnight spy mission in the neighborhood, Grace targets friend Sophie's middle-school guidance counselor, who becomes Sophie's nemesis after they bungle the job. There is something suspicious about the woman, with her helmet-hair wig, syrupy falsetto voice, and empty eyes. Taking their detective work undercover, the girls begin meeting secretly with a self-identified FBI agent who flashes a real-looking badge. Tension builds and Sophie begins to have doubts. Even worse, she and Grace stop speaking to each other. While the story becomes a bit convoluted, and Sophie sometimes seems older than 12, her first-person narrative is engaging as she sketches her friends, family, and school in strokes that are sometimes broad but often perceptive and wryly humorous. Still, the mixture of preteen detectives and armed murderers is at times an uneasy one, straining credibility particularly at the novel's climax. On the plus side, this is one of a growing number of mysteries featuring strong, smart female characters.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2013
Best friends Sophie and Grace get in trouble spying on school counselor Dr. Agford; but is creepy, be-wigged Dr. A hiding something, or do Sophie and Grace have the wrong end of the stick? And is the FBI really involved? Several plot developments and reversals defy credulity, but the girls' verve, and particularly their friendship struggles, make for engaging reading.

(Copyright 2013 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)