Leila Roy is a self-described "uber-librarian" and the nefarious mind behind the blog Bookshelves of Doom, where she posts about YA fiction and related news. She's also the creator and editor of a 'zine for YA short fiction, the TBR Tallboy, and she's well known around the Cybils, too.
One of Leila's recent reviews looked at YA Fiction nominee What I Saw and How I Lied, a historical novel by Judy Blundell that was the 2008 National Book Award Winner for Young People's Literature. She cites the absorbing narrative voice and the noir feel, and describes it as follows:
Evie Spooner's story is a coming-of-age story. Like a lot of coming-of-age stories, there is a tragedy. Like a lot of coming-of-age stories, there is a first love. Like a lot of coming-of-age stories, our heroine learns that the adults in her life are not the shining stars she has always believed them to be.
Click here to read the full review.