Sketchy Behavior

Sixteen-year-old Kate Carter sees her life as typical and unremarkable. Her days are filled with school, homework, and television viewing with her best friend, Maddy. Having sworn off dating after one disastrous experience, she has a pleasant, if perfunctory, relationship with her parents, and only the vaguest sense of who God might be. This all changes dramatically after her well-meaning art teacher introduces Kate and her classmates to forensic sketching. Before Kate knows it, her sketch of a notorious murderer is making headlines. As Kate loses her anonymity and her sense of security, she and her mother begin to seek spiritual solace at church, and soon Kate finds herself engrossed by the Psalms and Gospel of Luke. Additionally, Kate's world opens up beyond the confines of her friendship with Maddy, and she meets a boy who might even make her reconsider her dating ban. Though it is occasionally difficult to suspend disbelief, especially when a sketch artist gets such sustained celebrity treatment, Kate's wit and self-deprecation, combined with Mangum's entertaining take on the crime thriller genre, make for pleasurable reading. Ages 9%E2%80%9312. (Sept.)