School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up-Tucked in a remote Oregon forest is Camp Naramauke, a seemingly abandoned sleepaway camp but really home to a select group of violent teenagers. It is here that Signal Deere, accused of killing her childhood friend Rose, is brought after her release from juvenile detention, not to be rehabilitated but to be trained to kill without being caught. But Signal, who sports blue hair, hides a secret. She did not kill Rose, and her innocence sets her apart from the campers, who are proudly Class A, the most dangerous criminal distinction. At camp, Signal meets dark-blond Erik, who senses her innocence and wants to prove that she was framed, and Javier, a tall, artistic teen to whom she is drawn. When the campers are sent out on a mission to kill, Signal faces her greatest challenges yet while attempting to escape from the Teen Killers Club. In her debut YA thriller, Sparks creates a contemporary dystopian world and deftly weaves in details about her characters' pasts. Readers may not pick up on the subtle clues about Rose's murder, and the solution is too neatly revealed. Characters' ethnicity and appearance, other than hair color, aren't indicated. VERDICT Many will enjoy the suspense within these pages.-Gillian D'Ambrosio, Rutgers Univ., NJ?(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.