SCOOP

Determined to clear her father’s name, a high schooler interns at the local news station to find the truth in author Hamilton and artist Cooper’s YA graphic novel.

As this high-octane story opens,Cuban American high school student Sophie Cooper is barely hanging on by her fingernails—literally. She’s dangling from a helicopter, hundreds of feet off the ground, lamenting the bizarre series of events that brought her there. Five days before, Sophie began an internship at WMIA 7, Miami’s least popular local news channel. She planned to use the studio’s dwindling resources to clear her father, a local banker currently under house arrest for fraud, embezzlement, and obstruction of justice. But before she can begin her investigation, the news team is alerted to the murder of Gianfranco Vescucci, a famous fashion designer. He was shot, but there’s no physical evidence of who committed the crime—not even bullets. Meanwhile, in the Everglades, local law enforcement is flummoxed by a series of single-car accidents with no sign of the drivers or what caused the crashes. Even with the help of her new mentor, WMIA 7’s washed-up anchor Hal Ritz, and her tech-savvy 9-year-old brother, Kit, Sophie will have an uphill battle trying to work out how everything’s connected. The plot is overly complicated, and although a tenuous thread holds all the disparate subplots together, it’s not enough to reach a truly satisfying ending. Still, the action is unrelenting in this fun series starter. Sophie is a smart, strong hero whose determination to save her family sometimes gets her into hot water, and it’s great fun watching her get out of wild situations. Although murder is referenced and punches are thrown, the action stays in the realm of PG-13 territory, with a minimum of bloodshed. The large, diverse supporting cast—which includes Sophie’s powerhouse attorney mother, and Sheriff Firewalker, who’s investigating the car accidents—is impressively fleshed out. Hamilton’s dialogue is sharp and perfectly balanced by Cooper’s vibrantly colorful illustrations, which are full of movement and frantic energy, reminiscent of an animated film.

An entertaining, heart-pounding adventure with a strong female lead.