Caitlyn, a student Page from the Napanee Branch of the County of L&A Libraries, recently enjoyed Trouble is a Friend of Mine, a character-driven YA novel by Stephanie Tromly.

Zoe Webster has just moved to a new town where she knows no one when she meets Philip Digby, a boy who wears a black suit every day, uses deductive reasoning just as well as BBC’s Sherlock Holmes, and can take the most ordinary day and make it an adventure. Following the disappearance of a local teenage girl, a disappearance which is eerily similar to that of Digby’s own little sister a decade before, Digby enlists Zoe’s help solving both cases. What follows is some serious sleuthing and semi-legal schemes planned and orchestrated by a ragtag group of teens – Digby, Zoe, Henry (Digby’s best friend), Felix (kid genius), and Bill (short for Isabel) – with drug dealers and cops hot on their tail. There’s never a dull moment on Planet Digby.

This was an absolutely hilarious, dramatic, outrageous book.

This was an absolutely hilarious, dramatic, outrageous book. The quick-witted banter and deeper conversations between the characters, with everything from daddy issues to how to break into a secure office, to which story to tell the police. Stephanie Tromly wrote with pizazz and style. This is one of those books that you can forget is fictional; not because the events would (ever) happen to you in real life, but because the characters are so well drawn and the plot so intricate. The mystery builds on itself, finally coming to a head in an exhilarating climax.

This book is in an entirely different realm from anything else I’ve ever read. It’s fresh, fun, and new. For anyone looking for an engrossing, full-throttle YA mystery with some serious laughs and one awesome kiss thrown in, this one is for you.

Reserve this novel in print or e-book formats by visiting your local library branch or clicking here.