This review was submitted by one of our talented teen virtual volunteers.
With the twists and turns of this plot, we all question whether Steve Bell; the girl who has a passion for crimes will survive in this cruel academy? Or will she leave her Sherlock Holmes books on that windy Vermont Hill?
Out of the three-book series, truly devious captures us from the beginning. The author, Maureen Johnson portrays the story as if we are a student at Ellingham academy. Following the main character Stevie, as she finds out the secrets behind the Ellingham murder. However, to find out if she can solve the mystery or not, you must read The Vanishing Star, the next book in this radical series.
Albert Ellingham, a man with so many secrets it might have gotten him, and his family killed, built an academy for the gifted to only leave it so soon. Throughout the story two timelines are told, one in 1936 when the crime begins and one thirty years later when Stevie Bell arrives ready to crack open this cold case. Stevie Bell has one mission at Ellingham Academy; solve the case, but a good detective can also take a curveball. Hers was a group of friends and a blooming relationship. At least she thought she had a group of friends and a blooming relationship. But it seems she might’ve been lied to all along. The staff and teachers on campus all believe in Stevie and her ambitious plans for this chilling academy. Not only is she doing this for herself, to prove she belongs but also to show her parents, this isn’t some wild dream. It’s her career, her life, and she won’t let anything, not even her anxiety come in the way of that.
Personally, I really enjoy mystery novels, but nowadays it’s so hard to find ones that live up to the classics. With Truly Devious I never found that as the case. The bones of the story were perfect, but it was missing a bit of a backstory in the book. It felt like another plot line was needed, maybe of her romantic interest, David. Besides the lack of backstory from the romantic interest, all the characters were incredible, they all had a unique quirk that made them the most interesting they could be.
However, remembering what I said, I have not read the second book, so that missing backstory I talked about could be filled. Another thing that I did not really enjoy was the cliffhanger of the first book, I expected something to pertain to Stevie and the case, which in moderation it did, but it was a bit confusing that the last chapter needed to be read a couple times.
All that said, this was a very good book. I thought there could be improvements made but overall, it was a thrilling read. I mean it for sure was a book that was hard to put down, which is always a good sign. Truly Devious is for anyone who enjoys a good mystery, a good thrill, and a good couple weeks of anxiety for what will happen next (Or if you read very fast it could be a week of thrill and nervous excitement).
Since this book is a part of a series, if you don’t enjoy longer reads than maybe Truly Devious isn’t for you. But I do believe you could still read the first book and get a gist of the series.
If I were to rate this book, I would give it about a 4.8/5.0, this book was so enjoyable that I wish I could experience the first read of it all over again. Now some things I mentioned in my critique are a personal preference. I think Maureen Johnson really took her time and effort on making this book the best it could be, and I think it turned out even better than it could. I’m so excited to read the rest of the series and see what happens to Stevie Bell.
-Kella
