Hildy Biddle is feisty, funny, and and has a very good mind of her own. She is Banesville High's star reporter, determined to be as good as her father was. Apples are the "core" of Banesville's economy and two years of poor crops have farmers struggling. Life becomes really rotten when threatening signs appear on the town's old haunted house and Hildy gets a midnight call alerting her to a break-in there. Hildy and her friends are determined to break the story and solve the mystery.

The premise of a cub reporter breaking the story is hardly original, but Peeled is a very good young adult novel. Hildy is not only smart, determined,caring, and responsible, but the kind of girl who knows that beauty is more than skin deep and that fickle boyfriends aren't worth the bother. There are worthwhile lessons about corruption, the struggles faced by small towns and small farmers, and the power of the press -- and abuse of that power.

Fans of mysteries or crime novels might find the clues too heavy handed and could become impatient waiting for Hildy and her friends to catch on.

In a nutshell, I would recommend this to girls in the 12 to 15 age range. ( )

Hildy Biddle is feisty, funny, and and has a very good mind of her own. She is Banesville High's star reporter, determined to be as good as her father was. Apples are the "core" of Banesville's economy and two years of poor crops have farmers struggling. Life becomes really rotten when threatening signs appear on the town's old haunted house and Hildy gets a midnight call alerting her to a break-in there. Hildy and her friends are determined to break the story and solve the mystery.

The premise of a cub reporter breaking the story is hardly original, but Peeled is a very good young adult novel. Hildy is an excellent role model, not only smart, determined,caring, and responsible, but the kind of girl who knows that beauty is more than skin deep and that fickle boyfriends aren't worth the bother. There are worthwhile lessons about corruption, the struggles faced by small towns and small farmers, and the power of the press -- and abuse of that power.

There are a few weaknesses in Peeled. Hildy is the only well developed character, most of the other characters are stereotypes. Fans of mysteries or crime novels might find the clues too heavy handed and could become impatient waiting for Hildy and her friends to catch on.

In a nutshell, I would recommend this to girls in the 12 to 15 age range. ( )

Starts out as a ghost story/mystery, then segues into the first amendment rights of students. Bauer continues her winning streak! ( )

Reviewed by Grandma Bev for TeensReadToo.com

Banesville's newspaper, The Bee, has been printing stories about the town's old haunted house and stirring up fear in the town. Hildy Biddle, a reporter for the high school newspaper, The Core, wants to know just who, or what, is haunting Banesville.

Banesville is a quiet little town where the whole economy revolves around producing and selling apples...it's a whole way of life. It seems that because of the old haunted house and the sensationalism that The Bee has stirred up, a very large company wants to build a haunted amusement park revolving around the old Ludlow house. Hildy thinks the editor of The Bee is more interested in sensationalism and selling papers than he is in telling the truth, and now someone is trying to make the apple farmers sell out at below market price to make room for the proposed amusement park.

It's true that there have been reports of eerie, strange happenings and ghostly sightings, but Hildy and her friends at The Core are out to disprove the rumors and save the farmers. Their conflict with the editor of the rival newspaper causes the school to shut down publication of The Core, but Hildy isn't going to let that stop her. Together, can the kids figure out some way to keep the amusement park out and keep the apple country intact?

Bauer specializes in warm, funny, but strong characters, with witty dialogue, and is a genius at plotting exciting, very entertaining stories. PEELED is one of her best. Hildy stays true to her commitment to the town and her dream to be a great journalist as she struggles to overcome obstacles and expose the truth. Her leadership is inspirational as she confronts the established newspaper and its editor to try to save a way of life. ( )

Contemporary story of a young girl working on the high school paper who learns about the world of journalism and propaganda as she covers the happenings in her small town. The local paper has been sensationalizing a story about mysterious ghostly sightings in the town and she, her friends, and a veteran reporter turned advisor take on the fabrications and secrets that haunt their town. Light, fun story with life lessons attached. ( )