Snap

Sarah Mlynowski

"An electrifying page-turner—you’ll love this book."

VOYA - Teresa Copeland

Madison has what she thinks is the perfect life—big house, lots of clothes, and wealthy parents. She can indulge her love of photography with her fabulous friends all she wants. Everything comes apart at the seams, however, when her parents drag her to Sandyland, a dreary seaside town. Her father is digging ditches, and her mother, who has never worked before, gets a job as a cashier. Madison is stuck hanging out with some of the odder locals, the kind of kids with which a popular girl like her would never hang out. She meets fellow teens, Delilah and Duncan, at the Psychic Photo shop when her camera breaks. Afterwards, strange images start to appear on the camera of people who weren't there. When the subject of the first image turns out to be someone now dead, and the second lingering near death, the kids assume that the camera shows those about to die. While at first glance this suspenseful book seems to be about the paranormal camera, it's really more about the hard effects of the recession, and drastic changes that occur as the result of foreclosures and unemployment. Madison's voice wavers between sarcastic, teasing, whining, and understanding as she comes to terms with her changing circumstances, which makes her an interesting character to whom a reader can relate. The twist ending is both believable and enough of a surprise to make the reader really worry—it also keeps the pages turning, and Madison's snark keeps the message from becoming preachy. This book is a good light-thrill read. Reviewer: Teresa Copeland

Children's Literature - Suzanna E. Henshon

Madison's whole life is falling apart. During the summer before her sophomore year in high school, Madison cannot wait to join the staff of the school newspaper and make new friends. But her family spends the summer in Sandyland, where odd things happen. Whenever Madison takes a photograph, she discovers stranger figures in her camera. Are they ghosts? Or something more ominous? One day Madison discovers these are images of living people. Does the camera predict evil events that are about to happen? And if the camera does predict these unfortunate events, can Madison stop them from occurring? While Madison wonders if her life will ever get back to normal, she combats the anxiety of losing her family's house to a foreclosure while trying to make new friends in Sandyland. One day Madison takes a photograph of the beach and discovers her own image inside; is it a sign of her impending death? Young adults will enjoy this suspenseful and spellbinding story. Reviewer: Suzanna E. Henshon, Ph.D.

School Library Journal

Gr 6–10—Something strange is going on in 15-year-old Madison's family. Instead of vacationing in Hawaii, she and her mother will be spending the summer in a faded beach town where her father is working as a construction contractor. Madison is shocked when she sees their dingy motel, but comforts herself with the knowledge that she'll soon be back in her upscale home, gossiping with her friends. Then Madison's parents reveal the truth: the bank is foreclosing on their house and the move to Sandyland is permanent. Devastated, the teen plunges into her passion for photography, making friends with the local kids who hang around Psychic Photo, an odd fortune-teller/photo shop where she has taken her camera for repairs. Madison notices something odd: her pictures include eerie images of figures who weren't there when the shots were taken. Intrigue becomes alarm when the first one dies a few days later and the second is in a life-threatening accident. The mystery takes on a new urgency when Madison catches sight of some familiar faces in her latest images. Snow's novel is a page-turning blend of romance, mystery, and the supernatural, with the backdrop of the mortgage crisis as viewed through the eyes of an angst-ridden teen, providing a sense of freshness and currency. Characters are well developed, especially the scraggly townies whom previously stuck-up Madison gradually learns to accept as true friends. A perfect choice for fans of supernatural chillers.—Meredith Robbins, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis High School, New York City

Kirkus Reviews

After Madison Sabatini's family dumps their summer vacation in Hawaii for a mildewed hotel room in Sandyland, things go from "craptacular" to "suckerific" when her parents also reveal that their expensive home is being foreclosed and that they'll be staying in the sleepy seaside town indefinitely. At least the gifted 15-year-old photographer still has her camera, until a stumble on the beach leads her to repairs at Psychic Photo, where she meets the shop owner/psychic's skeptical daughter, Delilah, and townie Duncan. In her chatty, sarcastic narration, Madison mocks their thrift-store clothes and streaked hair until she discovers their nonjudgmental friendship, a possible romance and their acceptance of her unexplainable photographs, which reveal eerie images of strangers before they die. Their quest to solve the mystery becomes a race against time when Madison recognizes an all-too-familiar face in her latest photograph. As in Switch (2008), Snow blends mysticism, suspense and realistic family problems into a well-tuned chiller with enormous teen appeal. (Supernatural. YA)