Juvenile Fiction

Did Jessica murder one of her playmates, a troubled boy named Charlie when she was twelve years old? A recurring dream forces her to ask that question. Disturbed by the vision and needing to clear her conscience, Jessica returns to Victoria, British Columbia, her hometown and the site of the possible crime. There she catches up with her longtime best friend, Jilly, who confirms that Charlie did in fact go missing the week that Jessica’s family relocated to Australia. But a memory-erasing bout of meningitis at the time of the incident means Jessica doesn’t recall the questioning police officers, the extensive ground search, or being the last person to see Charlie alive. As a real best friend would, Jilly jumps head first into this six-year-old mystery and offers support during one of Jessica’s most trying times. She keeps Jessica from tackling the dangerous dilemma alone and summons the police when the two become neck deep in trouble. After a thrilling summer in Victoria will Jessica be able to acquit herself of murder before entering college in Calgary, or will her memory of Charlie’s death remain a fear she must learn to live with?

In Return to Bone Tree Hill, experienced YA writer Kristin Butcher chronicles a mystery that has the reader piecing together the evidence alongside Jessica and Jilly. From life and love conversations under the Bone Tree and the feverish nightmare that continues to offer nebulous clues, to midnight sleuthing and a few life or death confrontations, even the most reluctant readers will be caught up by the minute-to-minute action of these furtive, accidental detectives.

Ages 9-13