Eloise Parrish is the picture of sunshine and optimism while her sister Oli is “shadows and hesitation, with a hard shell” (3). The duo are avid birders, and their favorite place is the Braided Woods in Connecticut.  Because their parents died when the girls were quite young, they live with their grandmother Ida Gibson who is faced with the challenge of Alzheimer’s. The pair jokingly call themselves The Sisters With Too Much Responsibility. In September, Oli will be a junior, and Eloise would have been one year behind, but she shockingly is found dead in a shallow grave in the Braided Woods. Although the caseRead More →

Sixteen-year-old Bianca Torre identifies as a socially awkward lesbian until she realizes there is more to her identity. Not a risk taker, Bianca knows a lot about hiding. In fact, she hides her sexuality, her personality, and often herself as she peers in on the lives of others using her birdwatching telescope. When Bianca sees her neighbor, Steven Lebedev, another recluse from across the way, get murdered, no one believes her except her best friend, Anderson Coleman. The two live near one another in North Hollywood and decide to solve the murder of Mr. Conspiracy, which is how they best remember him. As they unravelRead More →