It’s been a long time since I’ve done one of these Monday Book Reviews. I am way behind, but I’m so happy today to be talking about Susan Miura’s Show Me a Sign.
Title: Show Me a Sign
Author: Susan Miura
Genre: mystery
Age group: YA
Synopsis: (taken from back cover) Seventeen-year-old Nathan Boliva is under investigation by the FBI for a kidnapping he didn’t commit. Deaf and beautiful Haylie Summers agreed to go on a date with him, then disappeared the day before. When the Feds discover a text was sent from Nathan’s cell phone, asking Haylie to meet him behind her garage, Nathan becomes a prime suspect.
Tied and blindfolded, Haylie struggles to grasp Nathan’s role in her captivity. He doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who would kidnap her. Then again, if he didn’t, who is holding her hostage, and why?
Desperate to solve the crime and rescue Haylie, Nathan and his best friend Alec set out at midnight to gather intel . . . and end up with far more than they bargained for.
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You all know how I love a good mystery, and Miura’s book Show Me a Sign is no exception. I love how Miura uses a deaf character in this story. Haylie’s inability to hear what is going on while she’s captured adds to the suspense and mystery in this story.
Nathan is a great hero as well. He wants to do what is right, but like a typical teenage boy, sometimes jumps in without thinking ahead to the consequences. His only concern is “saving the girl.” At the same time, Miura keeps Haylie from just being a “damsel in distress.” She’s feisty and has a good head on her shoulders.
Also, I really enjoyed the friendship that existed between Nathan and his British best friend Alec. Of course, I’m a bit of an Anglophile, so that may account for my tastes, but who doesn’t laugh when they tease each other about the way they talk? When Alec talks about bobbies and tellies, Nathan says, “They’re cops, not bobbies. And it’s a TV, not a telly. Speak English.” Alec responds, “You speak English.”
I’d recommend this book to upper middle grade and high school students who enjoy a fun mystery with a great male protagonist and a very worthy female counterpart.
