Daybreak on Raven Island

Gr 4-6--Seventh grade can be trying for any new teenager, but for Tori, who is white; Noah, who is Black; and Marvin, who is Korean American, surviving the year feels unlikely. The protagonists, along with a handful of other students, are on their way to Raven Island Prison--the first class to ever take a field trip there. The prison, reminiscent of Alcatraz, is rumored to be haunted, and ghosts have been sighted many times. Tori, Noah, and Marvin accidentally miss the ferry home and due to currents, they must wait until daybreak for another ferry to return for them. What ensues is a murder mystery that the three spend the night trying to solve. The island has many buildings, tunnels, and woods that are filled with ravens and ghosts galore, which add to the difficulty of deciphering the truth. No one is exempt from their suspect list. The mystery is written in third-person omniscient, and Bradley draws readers deep into questions of Raven Island in this suspenseful and sometimes scary narrative. Kids will keep turning the pages as they root for the three main characters on their quest for the truth. VERDICT A howling and harrowing good read, perfect for fans who like to keep guessing right up to the very end. A recommended purchase for libraries who need more mystery-horror genre-blends.--Tracy Cronce

Staying behind after a class field trip, three seventh graders endure a creepy night on the grounds of a long-shuttered island prison in this atmospherically heightened mystery by Bradley (Midnight at the Barclay Hotel). When Korean American Marvin, an aspiring filmmaker worried about being forgotten, sneaks off the class's home-bound ferry to record footage for a horror movie, two other kids join him. In the night to come, white, soccer-loving Tori confronts her feelings about her older brother's wrongful incarceration, while shy new kid Noah, a Black science enthusiast grieving his mother's death, faces his fear of disappearing. Investigating the old mystery of the island's notorious escaped prisoners, the tweens encounter the island's caretakers, a ghost-hunting film crew, and very real spirits, only to have matters complicated when someone ends up dead. Convenient reveals sometimes sap tension from the unfolding mystery, but smartly employed horror elements--a wide-ranging third-person narration that includes the island's perspective, an eerie setting featuring ever-present ravens and an underground isolation cell--contribute to a genuinely frightening feel that dovetails with a sober subplot examining injustices committed against the island's prisoners and institutional racism in the U.S. legal system. An author's note discusses prison reform and offers links for further reading. Ages 8-12. Agent: Laurel Symonds, Bent Agency. (Aug.)