Gardenia

Gr 9 Up—Seventeen-year-old Ivy can see numbers over everyone's heads showing how many years, months, days, and hours they have left to live. So it is not a surprise to her when her best friend, Vanessa, dies. She was not, however, expecting her to be murdered. Ivy is now determined to find out who killed Vanessa, all while watching her own countdown and knowing she only has one month and 27 days left to live. This work reads as a suspenseful mystery with a determined amateur sleuth, and the countdown numbers add an interesting layer to the story. The suspense builds steadily as more girls are found dead in the area and Ivy is running out of time. As she visits the elderly and dying in a nursing home, the theme of life and death and living your best life are well conveyed, although the school play about a dying girl's last day puts it a little over-the-top. The twist at the end is shocking but credible due to groundwork laid previously.