cover image The Clearing

The Clearing

Dorothy Reynolds Miller. Atheneum Books, $15 (128pp) ISBN 978-0-689-80997-2

Amanda's biggest worry during her summer at cousin Elinore's house in the country is that Elinore is too bossy. Then a bigger fear makes Amanda forget all about backyard squabbles-she stumbles upon new information about the killing of five-year-old Bucky Mead 10 years earlier. While the adults in this first novel are completely clueless, letting the youngsters frolic in the forest where Bucky's remains have still not been recovered, the kids suspect the murderer is Spook Wade, a mysterious mute man who lives nearby (naturally, he turns out to be a kind and simply misunderstood soul). When the real killer appears, Amanda and her friends don't know whether to keep it secret or tell a grownup. The premise is interesting, and Amanda's crisp, present-tense narration maintains a certain tautness and suspense. But crucial events-e.g., the final determination of the murderer's fate-occur off stage. The result is an odd distancing of the reader from the otherwise promising drama. Ages 8-12. (Oct.)