Spin by Lamar Giles
Published by Scholastic Press on January 29th 2019
ISBN: 1338219219
Pages: 400
Goodreads

This book is about the music and the mystery. Kya and Fuse are the first people to find DJ ParSec after she has been murdered. Both girls had complicated relationships with their friend Paris (DJ ParSec) and now they must find out who killed her to clear themselves. Told through flashbacks and alternating, first-person narratives, readers learn that DJ ParSec is on the brink of making it big, but she has secrets to hide just as Kya and Fuse. Topics such as media bias and racism add thought-provoking content to the mystery. This book will find fans with readers of thrillers and the short chapters make this a good choice for reluctant readers, and the music references also make it a fine choice for music fans. With many references to rap artists like Biggie and Tupac (and even old-school Queen Latifah) this book will create a running playlist in the reader’s head. Edgar Award-winner and founding member of We Need Diverse Books, Lamar Giles, brings to life young, female, Black women in the world of hip-hop. The voices of Kya, Fuse, and Paris need to be on the shelves of all libraries serving young adults.  For Grades 8 and up. 

Elizabeth Andersen, Librarian, Westbrook High School