In most high schools, good candidates for murder are not hard to come by; so why single out practically perfect Bindy Mackenzie? This teen novel, told entirely in emails and other documents, unfolds a mystery that involves far more than homicidal intentions.

Sure, she has ticked off the entire high school, but could someone actually be out to kill the heroine in The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie? by Jaclyn Moriarty, the companion book to Feeling Sorry for Celia and The Year of Secret Assignments. Bindy's journal entries and e-mail exchanges quicken the narrative pace. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Gr 7 Up
Through her diary, memos, letters, e-mails, etc., readers get to know this humorously unlikable, holier-than-thou perfectionist. The twist is that Bindy is being slowly murdered! It's easy to miss that detail, though, as the story focuses on her growth away from over-judging others, specifically her seven fellow Year 11 students in her "Friendship and Development" course at their Australian private school. Forgetting the murder thing-which Moriarty mostly does for 450 pages of this tome-this is an enjoyable, well-paced read with an emotional delicacy weaving through the light humor of Bindy's egocentricity. After Bindy's growth, however, the author postpones the denouement to tie the remaining loose threads up in an action-packed murder-mystery ending, utterly changing the book's tone. Moriarty's fans will miss the fully fleshed-out supporting characters of her earlier novels, but Bindy is a perversely engaging protagonist.
—Rhona CampbellCopyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Told in emails, transcripts, memos and other musings, Bindy records the eventful start of Year 11 at Ashbury, an Australian private school Moriarty has portrayed in her previous work. Bindy is an overachiever who thinks her classmates, teachers and even the School Board are desperately in need of her input. The FAD ("Friendship and Development") group, a new class taught by Try Montaine, really needs her help. Bindy's hair, worn in two long braids rolled on the sides of her head, becomes symbolic of her rigid, uncool, uptight existence. The murder of Bindy seems impossible, as she is the main character, and Bindy is unaware of her ability to cause enmity with that level of vitriol, being more comfy with just being irritating. Yet upon becoming aware of her own failings, she's equally committed to atoning completely. Bindy's unreliable narration provides most of the humor and suspense, hitting all the typical buttons Moriarty fans have come to expect, including a strange family life and an over-the-top d‚nouement. As memorably unique as Bindy herself. (Fiction. YA)