Sevi Norwood, a novice counselor hired to replace Ola Leonard, West Deerfield High School's recently deceased "perfect" guidance counselor, immediately gets into trouble with her eccentric principal. As he tries to force her into "virtual dismissal" by making her working conditions intolerable, she attempts to find allies on the faculty. She strikes up a friendship with an English teacher, whose husband, the previous principal, had mysteriously disappeared several years before Sevi's arrival.
When a former student commits suicide in front of the house where Sevi is living (which happens to be the same house the former counselor lived in), Sevi uncovers information which leads her to believe the former counselor may have once assisted in the still birth of an illegitimate child and buried the child's body in her own garden. When Sevi attempts to verify her suspicions, she uncovers a body, but not the body of an infant. How that body came to be in the counselor's garden, and what relationship it has to a missing newborn is up to Sevi to determine. | ||
Plot & Themes Tone of story - very upbeat Time/era of story: Murder of certain profession? Kind of investigator Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book descript. of violence and chases - 0 % Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 50 % How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20 % Crime Thriller Yes Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes Is Romance a MAJOR (25%+) part of story? Yes Main Character Gender - Female Profession/status: Age: - 20's-30's Ethnicity/Race Main Adversary Identity: - Male Age: - 40's-50's Profession/status: Eccentric: Yes Motive of antagonist - power How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor Intelligence - Average intelligence Setting United States Yes The US: - Mid-Atlantic states Small town? Yes Small town people: - nice, like Andy/Opie/Aunt Bee Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - no torture/death Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |