Book Review: Circle of Silence

Title:  Circle of Silence
Author:  Carol M Tanzman
Where I got it:  From NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review

Amazon Summary:

The biggest story of my life could be how it ends

It's my turn to run a Campus News crew, and I've put together a team that can break stories wide open. And Washington Irving High has a truly great one to cover, if only we can find a lead.

A secret society has formed in our school. It announced its presence with pranks: underwear on the flagpole, a toilet in the hallway, cryptic notes. A circle of silence keeps the society a mystery. No one knows its members, agenda or initiation secrets—until a student lands in the hospital under strange circumstances.

I will blow this story wide open and stop others from being hurt…or worse. And while my ex, Jagger, might want to help, I don't trust him yet. (And, no, not because of our past together. That is not important to this story.)

But whether you find me, Valerie Gaines, reporting in front of the camera, or a victim in the top story of the newscast…be sure to watch Campus News at 9:00 a.m. this Friday.

My Thoughts:
You guys, this book was such a page turner! 

It’s Val’s senior year, and she’s in charge of one of the teams running the school news broadcast.  Everything was perfect, until her ex, who completely broke her heart last year, gets assigned to her crew.  Oh, and a secret society starts pranking the school with increasingly dangerous and creepy intentions.  Val and her crew are determined to get to the bottom of this new society, even if it means putting themselves in danger to solve the mystery.

Ok, so the premise of this book is just a tad unrealistic.  Teen news people turned detectives?  In reality, this screams “yeah right.”  However, I’m willing to suspend reality for the sake of this book, which was simply fantastically done in terms of the mystery and drama in Washington Irving High.

Even better than just an intriguing mystery is the relationships between the characters, and the surprises that crop up throughout the book.  I didn’t find it predictable at all, and it was nice to see the characters gain depth and unique personalities as the story continued. 

And let’s not even talk about how the ending just smacks you upside the head…  This book will appeal to fans of mystery, and media/news in general!