Staff Book Reviews
Break the Surface (Watching Alice)
Seek the Prophet (Watching Alice)
Alice is missing, and Tom is desperate to find her. So desperate he's willing to make public his journal, her journal
and all the evidence gathered on www.watchingalice.com (which
actually redirects to www.alicebrownismissing.com). The
first in the series, Break the Surface, is Tom's first journal and it chronicles the events from his first meeting with
Alice until the day of her disappearance. The second, Walk on Water, is Alice's journal for the same time period.
In these, we learn that both are hiding a shameful secret but are undeniably attracted to each other.
In the third, Seek the Prophet, Tom searches for clues to crack the code in Alice's journal, and in Find the Miracle,
Tom finds an ally and unravels the sinister plot behind Alice's disappearance, her secret and the Miracle. These were
fast-paced, fairly intelligent and exciting - I finished the entire series in two days. The author keeps several carrots
dangling at all times, so the reader has to keep going to find the answer to the next riddle. Hopefully teens will
realize they are fictitious - the plea for help from Tom in both the books and on the website is pretty heartwrenching.
The website does say For Entertainment Only at the bottom. These are great for reluctant readers and do not contain
overly controversial material - the language is pure and while there are references to seedy things (drug use, drug
dealing, teacher dating student, murder), it is all seen through the eyes of two fairly wholesome characters, tempering
it somewhat. Highly Recommended.
Reviewed by Candi Pierce Garry
Media Specialist
Wilson Middle School