Teen Fiction - Choices & Transitions, Teen Fiction - Mysteries & Thrillers, Teen Fiction - Romance & Friendship

The Trust

Name: The Trust
Author: Dolby, Tom
ISBN: 9780061721649

by Dolby, Tom

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Overview

Who can you trust when everything is secrets and lies?

It's a new semester at the Chadwick School, and even with the ankh tattoos that brand them, Phoebe, Nick, Lauren, and Patch are hoping for a fresh start. Each day, however, they are reminded of their membership as new Conscripts in the Society. The secret group that promised to help them achieve their every dream has instead turned their lives into a nightmare.

Exclusive membership lost its luster as the Society revealed its agenda to them and two of their classmates were found dead. Now they can't help but wonder: Who's next? While they search for the elusive truth about the Society, the Conscripts are forced to face their darkest fear—that they truly can't get out.

Will Nick and Phoebe's new relationship endure this strain? Can Patch and Nick's longtime friendship survive the truth that will come to light? The deceptions of the group's leaders, once trusted friends, and family will test these four as they fight to leave the Society behind.

The Trust, Tom Dolby's sequel to secret society, is an alluring glimpse behind the facade of a life of entitlement, where secrets aren't merely fun—they're deadly.

About the Author, Dolby, Tom

Tom Dolby is the author of the novels Secret Society, The Sixth Form, and The Trouble Boy. He was born in London, raised in San Francisco, and now divides his time between Manhattan's West Village and Wainscott, New York. He is a graduate of Yale University, where he received his BA in the history of art.

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Editorials

Children's Literature - Amy McMillan

Nick Bell's family runs a secret society promising wealth, power, and prestige to anyone who is invited to join. At first, the promise of connections and success excite Nick and his friends, Phoebe, Lauren and Patch, and they are seduced by the glamour of it all. But when two of their classmates end up murdered and the society is to blame, they realize they are in way over their heads and want out. But it is not that easy; they know too much, and for Nick's family it is an honor and legacy going back generations. However, aid comes from an unlikely source when, on his deathbed, Nick's grandfather gives them clues, the key to escaping the society he himself had become dissatisfied with, and sends the teens on a scavenger hunt of sorts that unlocks additional mysteries about both the society's and their own pasts. Each chapter is narrated by a different character allowing the reader personal glimpses into the different effects of the society on each person. It is a fun if unspectacular read. The ending, in particular is a bit unrealistic. The spoiled society kids give up their accustomed pampered lifestyles a little too easily and the society, for all its evil intentions, lets the teens go after just a threat of blackmail (though there is a hint at a possible third installment.) Fans of Gossip Girl and Pretty Little Liars will enjoy the familiar rich-kid existence with the added touch of intrigue in this sequel to Secret Society. Reviewer: Amy McMillan

Kirkus Reviews

The plot thickens at the Chadwick School. This second installment of the Secret Society novels (Secret Society, 2009) reintroduces Lia, Nick, Thad, Patch and Lauren, five wealthy teenage friends linked by membership in The Society, a clandestine group of New York's most powerful people who are willing to protect their exclusivity no matter the price. After witnessing The Society's ruthless measures, the teens decide they want out—but they quickly learn with deadly certainty the power of The Society and its determination to maintain membership. Historical elements of ancient Egypt (an ankle tattoo of an ankh is the badge of membership in the Society), New York society and art history are intertwined in this intense mystery, which the teens must unpack to learn The Society's secrets and earn their freedom. More of a thriller than anything else, the text delivers suspense, but at the expense of unevenly introducing and developing the main characters, therefore making a read of the first book essential.(Thriller. 12 & up)