SNITCHERS

When the grownups can't do it, three friends join together to figure out who killed a little boy in their neighborhood in this stunning debut YA by award-winning playwright Stephane Dunn.

Nia Barnes is preparing to enter high school and trying to stay on her mama's good side. Life in their small Midwestern city hasn't been the same since her father was shot down in the middle of the night with no witnesses. The unsolved murder has haunted Nia ever since, driving her love of detective novels and true crime stories. And the violence isn't just where she lives- it's everywhere. Nia can't stand that nothing can stop it. When the little boy she babysits is caught in the crossfire of a drive-by shooting, it devastates Nia, her friends, and the community. She and her best friends Dontay and Miracle Ruth want to do more than be sad and afraid. The trio secretly sets out to find who murdered Little Petey and get him justice. They look up police reports and listen to the conversations of their elders; they try to follow suspects the way Nia's favorite teen detectives might. But the search for truth isn't straightforward, especially when you're somewhere between being kids and adults, and people want peace but are afraid to talk. If Nia and her friends solve the crime, more people might end up dead. Is that justice? Should they still try? Fans of true-crime podcasts and social justice will love this book that asks hard questions about who gets justice and how crimes are solved. Dunn allows complex questions to arise in a community that cannot trust the police to help them find justice for horrific crimes. Stephane Dunn is a bright new voice for fans of Renee Watson, Jacqueline Woodson, and Angie Thomas; she is a writer, filmmaker, and professor whose work has appeared in The Atlantic, NPR, the Los Angeles Times, MSNBC.com, The Root, CNN.com, Best African American Essays 2009 and more. Dunn is the author of Baad Bitches & Sassy Supermamas: Black Power Action Films, and the Tirota/Finish Line Social Impact Script Competition award-winning screenplay, "Chicago '66. " She lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her family. Find her on Twitter at @DrStephaneDunn.