GIRL ON TRIAL is a Contemporary YA Mystery/Thriller. Sixteen-year-old Emily Keller has one goal her junior year of high school: fit in. But making friends and being popular takes Emily down a dangerous path of drinking, pills, and sex. Now the family she babysat for is dead and Emily is accused of leaving the stove on, causing carbon monoxide poising.
Bottom line: GIRL ON TRIAL is for you if you like legal suspense coupled with real life situations that go from bad to worse.
Listen to the first two chapters here or wherever you get Mysteries to Die For podcast
Strengths of the story. Author Kathleen Fine took a rare approach to the storytelling, alternating between the jury trial and the events of the prior year, beginning with the first day of school. While other stories may alternate between past and present, GIRL ON TRIAL meticulously walks through the trial, making you feel the fear and anxiety along with Emily.
With this approach, we have two storylines running simultaneously and they have two very different feels. In the “past” story, we get to know Emily as a person and see the influence those closest to her – her twin brother, her friends – have on. This isn’t a story of privilege but of a smart, determined daughter of a single mom who is an alcoholic. Reading with an adult’s eye, we see the precipice Emily is walking along well before she does.
If the “past” story is personal, the “trial” story is professional. The lawyer does the talking. Emily has to listen to testimony that cuts down who she is. Some are lies, some aren’t, but she has to hold herself in the impossible combination of aloof but humble. The contrast between the two storylines is nicely done.
Where the story fell short of ideal: GIRL ON TRIAL is hard to pin down on genre. It is listed as a Young Adult Mystery / Thriller. I argue it is neither. It is not a Mystery as there is not a crime being investigated and none of the characters are working to uncover information to resolve the situation. It is not a Thriller because it lacks the fast pacing, the physicality, and the risk of mortal danger to the hero. I find it best classifies as Suspense. The pacing is methodical, plotting through the school semester and the trial, where the tension is psychologically derived and you are just waiting for the other shoe to fall.
Some readers may find the time element challenging, as I did. The story alternates between the trial (present) and the year prior. In each of those, there are passages where Emily is remembering events from other times in her childhood. For myself, I did have trouble keeping the timing straight. In the end, it did not detract from a compelling lead character and a story that may be more common than we want to believe.
If you are a crossover reader who “reads everything” or are in the mood for something a little different, pick up GIRL ON TRIAL.
TG Wolff 