Where Trouble Leads. Brenda Chapman. Toronto, ON: Napoleon, 2007. 131 pp., pbk., $9.95. ISBN 978-1-894917-44-5. Grades 6-9 / Ages 11-14. Review by Ellen Wu. **½ /4

excerpt:

It was definitely one of the scariest moments of my life, crossing the floor of that boathouse in the semi-dark to view a dead body. Roxie couldn't have followed any closer, and I could hear the shallow in and out of her breathing every step of the way. What had I let myself get talked into? Why hadn’t I listened to my sensible inner voice for once? I stopped near the spot I’d seen Roxie standing by the boxes and tried to prepare myself before shining my flashlight downwards. Sure enough, a foot lay sideways between two stacks of boxes, and as I traced the beam of light lengthways on the ground, I saw that the foot was attached to a leg—a leg dressed in blue jeans.

“Step back, Roxie," I ordered and heard her shuffle backwards on the plank floor. I knelt and pushed away some of the boxes to get next to the body. I managed to work my way in without touching the person stretched out beside me. Lowering the beam of my light, I gave a cry. I recognized the curly, dark hair.

Roxie squeaked, “What is it, Jennifer?”

I could hardly get the words out. I was that shocked. Finally, I said, “It’s Chad Reynolds. How can this be?”

Brenda Chapman’s third instalment of her Jennifer Bannon novels lets trouble lead the series’ 15-year-old title heroine, her best friend Ambie, and her younger sister Leslie to White Pine summer camp. Jennifer is already beset by a number of drastic changes in her domestic life: her mother has just remarried and moved away to California, leaving her father devastated by the loss of his now ex-wife. Jennifer’s boyfriend, Pete, has opted for college in Montreal rather than staying in Toronto. And life at White Pine Camp is not as idyllic as it should be. The staff members (including a handsome but inscrutable counsellor) seem to be involved in furtive after-dark activities, a few girls under Jennifer’s charge harbour secrets about their past, and, to top it all off, the food is inedible. 

     While the cover’s illustration suggests non-stop suspense, Where Trouble Leads does provide the comforting familiarity of the summer camp experience. Flirtation occurs between Jennifer and the charming Chad while Ambie remains clueless to the romantic overtures of another teenaged boy counsellor. Jennifer also works hard to win the trust of two campers: the withdrawn Cathy Wong, whose mother left her at camp while she grapples with spousal abuse, and the rebellious Roxie, who has no family at all and shuttles between foster homes.

     In between teaching kids to swim and bonding with them, Jennifer follows a trail of clues to uncover the truth behind the camp staff’s activities (drug smuggling) and the true identity of the Chad, the counsellor (undercover cop). At the end of the story, Jennifer emerges from White Pine unscathed. Her family even takes Roxie with them as a temporary member of the Bannon family, and Jennifer returns home with relief.

     This reviewer finds Jennifer at times too sensible and well-adjusted to all the upheaval in her life to be a credible teenager, and, despite Jennifer’s forebodings that “life is never going to be the same again,” few of the exciting events of Jennifer’s summer change her internally. Chapman has perhaps chosen to focus on the various strands of plot and social issues (divorce, spousal abuse, foster children) at the expense of character development. Moreover, readers new to the series may not understand the background of Jennifer’s past that is referenced throughout the text. Nevertheless, reluctant teen readers, or readers already fans of the Jennifer Bannon novels, will be rewarded by Chapman’s deft handling of clues, her detailed evocation of a Canadian setting (Springhills, Ontario, and the Georgian Bay area), and a likeable, unflappable heroine.

Recommended. 

Ellen Wu is a student in the Master of Arts in Children's Literature program at Hollins University, in Roanoke, VA.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

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Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

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