If Anything Happens to Me by Luann Rice

 

Young teens love murder mysteries and horror books, and it is hard to find age-appropriate titles to satisfy their interests but don't cross into being too gruesome or sexual for readers in the 13-15 year old age range. This mystery about Oli, a 16-year-old whose sister was murdered less than a year ago, is being sold at middle school Scholastic Book Fairs and is appropriate for young teen readers. Oli visits the site of her sister's murder once a month, and in the opening chapter of this book she finds a teenage girl left for dead in the same site. Her name is Iris and she insists on not notifying the police. Iris does not remember much about her situation, but she does know that she has a sister who is being held in captivity, so Iris and Oli set off to find the captor, save Iris's sister, and find the person who killed Oli's beloved sister. This book is not nearly of the same quality as The Good Girl's Guide to Murder or One of Us is Lying or The Agathas, all popular mysteries with middle school and high school students. The teen characters are poorly developed, and the kidnappings and murders are highly implausible, and the characters lack racial diversity. However, I already know an 8th grade reader who devoured this book and loved it, and that is worth a lot.