Circle of Silence (Harlequin Teen) (edition 2012)

I received a copy of this digital galley, free, in exchange for my honest opinion.
Goodreads Summary: The biggest story of my life could be how it ends. It’s my turn to run a Campus News crew, and I’ve put together a team that can break stories wide open. And Washington Irving High has a truly great one to cover, if only we can find a lead. A secret society has formed in our school. It announced its presence with pranks: underwear on the flagpole, a toilet in the hallway, cryptic notes. A circle of silence keeps the society a mystery. No one knows its members, agenda or initiation secrets—until a student lands in the hospital under strange circumstances. I will blow this story wide open and stop others from being hurt... …or worse. And while my ex, Jagger, might want to help, I don’t trust him yet. (And, no, not because of our past together. That is not important to this story.) But whether you find me, Valerie Gaines, reporting in front of the camera or a victim in the top story of the newscast be sure to watch Campus News at 9:00 a.m. this Friday.
My thoughts:
Valerie, a reporter for Campus News , is working on the story of her life. But the cost must be her life. MP starts with small pranks but soon they escalate and someone gets hurt. As the B team races to uncover MP’s identity and purpose, the danger increases and the enemy is closer to home.
Okay, I didn't really know what to expect when I started reading Circle of Silence. I think that this was a pretty decent read, though it didn’t create a whole lot of excitement. I like the characters and their interactions with each other. Val and Bethany’s relationship is awkward. No, they don’t get along with each other and it’s normal for sisters to be distant with each other. But there were moments that Val actually reached out and tried to connect with Bethany. Bethany is the little sister, and for her there is a mixture of emotions that she is dealing with: jealousy and not having a group to belong to (just to name a couple). Regardless of the awkwardness, there was a lot of love within the family. This fact makes some of the events that happen a little unbelievable.
As far as the romance, not every story requires a love triangle and I tend to avoid triangles. There were an equal amount of reasons for both guys, but ultimately I think Val made too big a deal out of choosing. It is high school though. My favorite part of the book was how B-team worked together and going after the stories. I did like the characters and the passion that they had for their pursuits.
Recommendation: While I think that there is a lot of room to increase the tension and excitement within the story, I did enjoy it. And I still think that it’s worth checking out.

3 stars *** ( )

Author: Carol M Tanzman
Published By: Hanlequin Teen
Age Recommended: YA
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: 4

Review:

"Circle of Silence" by Carol M. Tanzman was a second installment of the WiHi series and I thought this was a very intriguing read that I couldn't put down until the end. This was indeed interesting mystery that was thrilling to see how this author was able to tell this story from a 'news team view point and the point of the MP' keeping this going on throughout this novel. This is definitely a novel that will keep the reader captivated and hanging on every word as the tension grows as the story progresses. There will be even a little romance thrown in.

The story is of a senior Valerie Gaines who wants her senior year to really count
and she is the producer of "Campus News". Valerie wants badly to win the school's Emmy Award to help get into the top university of journalism of her choice. But will this happen? Problems arise when Valerie's ex boy-friend, Jagger has join the news class and is on her team...then there has been "pranksters whose pranks seem to be getting more and more dangerous that uses the initials MP." The MP's were a "group of teenage outcasts tired of being ignored and humiliated every day decide to take revenge on people around them." For the pledge these member make to their group to keep silent really will be something. Who knew that Valerie not only had to find out who is behind all of this, but also will getting this story be worth risking her own life? "The question is, can she prevent this tragedy before it strikes and can Valarie and her team find out the identity of MP before it's too late."

The characters were all a interesting group from Valerie, Marci, Raul, Jagger, Omar, Mr.Carleton, Scott Jenkins, Bethany, Jesse, James, Phil, Henry, Mrs. G, Lawrence, Tracy Garner, Teneisha, Emily Purdue, Liam Dolan to Arnold Clemson and a few others... really made this some story.

Towards the end of the book, you find out one of the members of MP is someone very close to Valerie, but Valerie easily forgave her. Wow! This was really something and I had better stop here and say you must pick up "circle of Silence" to find out how this all comes out! I wasn't totally surprise or shocked at who it was.

This novel was a enjoyable mystery read that I would recommend that it would keep you were entertained from the beginning till the end. ( )

Review by Sliced Open Reviews

So, if you read my review for dancergirl earlier today/yesterday then you know that I was pleasantly surprised by my enjoyment of it after my apprehension in reading it. Well, Circle of Silence is part of what spawned all of the curiosity. Truthfully, I was more intrigued by the synopsis for this book and after finishing dancergirl I was so much more excited to start reading.

You remember my curiosity to how WiHi was going to be a series? Well it is, but it isn’t. You could, in theory, read these out-of-order. But, there are so innuendos within this book that you would only pickup on having read dancergirl. The series takes on the same setting, but picks up a completely new cast and story. Oh and boy was it a story. This book really stepped it up with the action and suspense aspects. Yes, there was also still mystery but this one. Totally takes a combination of all three and ends up kicking your butt!

I also loved the characters in this book too. Where the characters in dancergirl were great and contributed to the story fabulously, Circle of Silence does much in the same, while also ramping up the romance factor. Jagger, Jagger, Jagger. *Cue my bad boy infatuation* yes, Jagger is Valerie’s ex who dropped her like a bad habit their previous year of school and now he has come barreling back into her life while attempting to, what she thinks, ruin HER year on “Campus News”. Well, Jagger’s spectacular bad boy facade plus what seems like Valerie’s ideal story to give her the breakthrough year on “Campus News” equaled on book I couldn’t put down!

Oh, aaannndddd Masked men…freaking creepy! I loved the random MP LOG’s tossed in throughout the book totally added to the action and creep factor.

Overall loved this one too, Carol M Tanzman totally stepped up her game with it and will have to pick up a copy to add to the shelves! ( )

Carol M. Tanzman has a gift for writing contemporary stories that explore the real, gritty side of high school life in a way that keeps the reader captivated and hanging onto her every word. Honestly, I'm not fond of the synopsis. It doesn't capture the thrill and shivers and dread that I felt while reading this book. It doesn't capture the essence of the story as did the synopsis for dancergirl (WiHi #1). However, I had read dancergirl, and I remembered how much I loved that book. With high expectations, I picked up Circle of Silence, and I loved it.

Although this is the second book in a series, what ties the books together is that they take place in the same high school. The character are all different, but for a couple references to Ali, which was pretty exciting. I cheered, "I KNOW THAT GIRL!!" in my head, as though I'd spotted a celebrity. In a way, I did. I'm that big of a book nerd.

The story focuses on Val's perspective; however, every now and then, the mysterious leader behind the society gets a word in. Each time, I knew that something bad was going to happen. Because the leader doesn't have anything good to say. What we see is plotting--plotting on how to use the other members of the society, what new and dangerous prank to pull, and who should be eliminated. Each prank is more daring and threatening than the last, and I was hanging off the edge of a mental cliff, worrying that Val and her team wouldn't expose the truth in time to prevent something irreversible from happening. As it is, they come across many close calls.

Val is a very different narrator from Ali. Both have large amounts of pressure put onto them, and both are courageous in their own ways. Ali for going after a stalker; Val for pursuing the truth of the story at all costs. The difference is that Val seems more energetic and with more drive, which comes from the reporter within her. As an aspiring journalist, she is always pushing after the truth, after the story, and her curiosity often gets her into trouble. (And having a stalker isn't very energizing. It's downright scary.) Oftentimes, it causes her to forget about what matters. However, that is at the heart of this story: learning to accept yourself and the proper way to go about doing that. I loved watching Val and her team pursue the story on the mysterious society

Val is a courage girl. It takes a lot of guts to pursue a story as dangerous as this one, especially when you know that the authorities won't do anything to help. With this second book, Tanzman has established herself as one of my favorite authors. I absolutely cannot wait to read the next book that she has lying in store for us! ( )

Valerie Gaines is determined to make her senior year count. As producer of "Campus News" she knows if she plays her cards right she and her news team can easily win the school Emmy and she will get into the top journalism school of her choice. But then her ex-boyfriend, Jaggar joins the class and her teacher assigns Jaggar to her team. So much for getting over him. Now Valerie has to deal with the boy who broke her heart while investigating a group of school pranksters whose pranks seem to be getting more and more dangerous. Despite the warnings to stop her investigation, Valerie is determined to find out who is behind this, but is getting the story worth risking her life?

I missed the first installment of the WiHi series, but from what I understand, each installment deals with a different cast of characters, so I didn't feel as if I was missing any information. After reading this book, I definitely want to go back and read dancergirl. The story was well-executed, and I felt connected to a lot of the characters. The plot was well-paced and the tension grew as the story progressed. I really liked Valerie. I totally understood her motivation -- she's a journalist and her tenacity was admirable. I'm not sure I would have been as strong as her were I to find myself in a similar situation. I was thoroughly engaged in the story. I liked that it felt real. The whole secret society, and the pledge these members make to their group to keep silent really grabbed me. I could totally see this happening. There are so many kids in high school that feel as if they don't really belong, so pledging oneself to a group just to feel wanted makes sense. I also liked that the romance, while not a dominant part of the story, felt natural and not forced. While the ending and the reveal of who was behind the mysterious group didn't really surprise me, I felt the rest of the novel gelled well enough that it didn't bother me as badly as it would have had the story been weak.

I definitely recommend this one. A perfect mix of mystery, intrigue, likable characters and a touch of romance makes Circle of Silence a must read for any mystery lover. ( )