Someone depicted research correctly- time for celebratory balloons and cake!

53. Someone’s Watching – Jessica Pierce

I’ve read a YA book from this time period with a similar plot before…but that one was not as easy to read as this one and involved one of those “I look real young” undercover cops almost dating the 17 year old who is 13 in her head because of that coma. Icky.

Thankfully, the prevalent policeman in this one is not trying to date the protagonist, a minor who saw her mother get murdered in a park when she was two and then sat on her body until she was found. Dark.

Anyway, just like in the other one, remembering who the mother’s killer is becomes the main focus. Cassidy chooses to utilize the help of her friend Rory (who is neither described as plain nor plump #feminism) and Rory’s friend Matt, the PI in training. Matt knows about things like the Hall of Records and scamming government employees into giving away people’s identifying information. There’s one microfiche mistress that gives him some shit and I do remember doing that when kids would ask to use the microfilm (we didn’t even have any fiche) machine at the public library I worked at. I would ask them what their research purpose was and that was quite the stumper. Research? Purpose? To be fair, that machine was not a toy and if it got fucked up, there was one dude in the entire state of Mississippi that I was aware of who could come fix it and only came like once a year, like Krampus and Santa. I know I have mentioned the difference between microfiche and microfilm and what’s on them several times on this blog – and for once someone got it right. Vital records like births and deaths do tend to be on fiche. FINALLY. Those words (fiche and film) are not interchangeable and this is the hill I will die on and then roll down like an unspooling reel of microfilm.

Moving on because everyone else probably wants to, Cassidy is having a harder and harder time with her traumatic memories and the way her mental health professional also happens to keep mentioning that she went catatonic when she was little and she could do it again. There are some moving parts to this story and it was a fun read overall and went to some unexpected places – like the hall of records.

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Belvedere is pleased with the depictions of research and several other things in this book.