REALITY CHECK
By Peter Abrahams

Cody Laredo somehow has managed to go from a nearly perfect life--amazing girlfriend, good job, football scholarship potential--to a torn ACL, failing grades, and his girlfriend Clea shipped off to boarding school in Vermont.  Not yet 17, Cody drops out of school and takes a full-time job, floating through life without any goals.  When he hears that Clea has gone missing, he has little motivation for staying home.  He loads up his truck, withdraws some money from his account, and takes off for Vermont to look for Clea.  He somehow feels that a letter he receives from Clea, written the morning of her disappearance, holds the clues to her whearabouts. 
      When Cody arrives at Clea's fancy school, he soon learns that he has no idea whom he can trust, so he shies away from telling anyone who he is.  The local police officer gradually gains a part of Cody's trust, but the shooting of Clea's beloved horse Bud in the school's stables, along with other weird occurrences, put Cody on his guard, and lead him into an investigation he alone could do.  Reality Check, on this year's Tayshas list, is a suspenseful crime novel with an appealing teen protagonist.  ~reviewed by Mrs. Sams