January 1, 2016
Gr 8 Up-This installment picks up where All Fall Down (Scholastic, 2015) left off. Grace is reeling from the realization of what actually happened to her mother and the lies her own family had encouraged her to believe. Her guilt and anger have reescalated, and she barely eats or sleeps. Partially in explanation for what happened, her grandfather's chief of staff, Ms. Chancellor, reveals the existence of a secret society of women of which Grace's mother was a member and to which Grace herself will soon belong. Ms. Chancellor reveals little more other than that the society is an ancient one that has been involved in much of Adria's political intrigue. Concerned about her mental state, Grace's brother Jamie returns to the embassy from West Point, bringing along a friend whose grandmother was from Adria. When the friend winds up dead and Jamie's Russian friend Alexei is accused of the murder, the threat of an international incident has all of Adria in an uproar. Convinced of Alexei's innocence and suspecting the involvement of the society to which she is shortly to become a member, Grace enlists the help of her friends to keep him hidden until they can discover what really happened. While Grace's ceaseless anger and self-recrimination weigh heavily on the story line, this surprise-filled page-turner with its cliff-hanger ending will not disappoint. VERDICT Carter delivers another plot-twisting thrill ride for "Embassy Row" fans.-Cary Frostick, formerly at Mary Riley Styles Public Library, Falls Church, VA
Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
July 1, 2016
In All Fall Down, Grace solved her mother's death, but that was only the tip of the conspiracy lurking within the fictional country of Adria. Now Grace has been inducted into a secret society with a role she doesn't even understand. Psychological thriller meets high-society scheming in a fast-paced plot, and Grace's fear and guilt keep her character development central to the story.
(Copyright 2016 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)