The Cutting Room Floor

September 2, 2013
If Dez’s life were a romantic movie, by the end he would find a way to win over Riley, his neighbor, best friend, and secret crush. But as film fanatic Dez knows all too well, his life is the kind of movie “that would make the viewer uncomfortable.” That’s because Dez has been manipulating Riley’s life to ensure that her romantic relationships (with both guys and girls) never develop. The film he’s directing and she’s starring in is going to be their ticket to college and out of their depressed Minneapolis suburb; all Riley has to do is realize that Dez is the one. Meanwhile, Riley has been unceremoniously outed, and she’s consumed by suspicions about the unsolved murder of her favorite teacher. Debut author Klehr effectively uses Dez’s and Riley’s alternating voices to tell the central story (Dez’s chapters include screenplay-style filming notes), but there are too many complications, loose ends, and inconsistencies surrounding it, and she over-relies on the murder to darken a tale that’s already plenty dark and interesting on its own. Ages 13–up. Agent: Jessica Sinsheimer, Sarah Jane Freymann Literary Agency.

September 15, 2013
An aspiring filmmaker exhibits disturbing controlling tendencies toward more than just his art in this interesting but complicated murder mystery. The novel opens in the weeks following the unsolved murder of a teacher at their high school. Cinema geek Dez (short for Desmond) is certain he is in love with his childhood friend and neighbor, 17-year-old Riley--so sure that he has taken to engineering some nasty, behind-the-scenes schemes in an effort to drive her away from others and toward him. Though Riley is open about being attracted to girls, she is still working out her sexuality, and for a time, it seems that Dez's plot may be successful. As she becomes more and more involved in uncovering details of the murder, the situation slowly unfolds and comes to a head. While certainly an original premise that makes effective use of the sinister tone set by Dez's stalker tendencies, these two storylines don't always completely mesh. The employ of a dual narrative (Riley alternates with Dez), though useful in conveying the inner emotions and thoughts of both main characters, may further divide readers' focus. A distinctive thriller that is most successful in its nuanced exploration of a young man's obsession and a young woman's journey to self-knowledge and less so in delivering a convincing whodunit. (Thriller. 14 & up)

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October 15, 2013
Grades 9-12 Seventeen-year-old self-styled film freak Desmond admits that he has done a bad, bad thing. But what could it be? Meanwhile, Riley, upon whom Dez has a killer crush, has been cruelly outed by her ex-girlfriend and, to make things even worse, Riley's favorite teacher has been murdered. What next? Predictably, Riley decides to find out whodunit. In addition, Dez is busy completing a student film, starring Riley, for entry in a film-festival competition and falling ever more in love with her. This is a disaster waiting to happen, his friend Jonah declares of Dez's infatuation with an apparent lesbian. But is it? And, oh, yes, will Riley discover the murderer? Klehr's first novel is told in alternating chapters from the points of view of both Riley and Dez, whose contributions are often offered in the form of screenplay snippets. Though the murder aspect of the story seems melodramatic and tacked on, the evolving relationship between Dez and Riley will hold the reader's attention until the final credits roll.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)