Desert Crossing
by Elise Broach
DESERT CROSSING by Elise Broach
Category: Mystery/Thriller
Age Recommendation: Grades 9+
Release Date: 5/2/06
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Reviewed by: Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky"
Rating: 5 Stars
DESERT CROSSING is a teenage road trip gone wrong.
Lucy Martinez is headed cross country to her father's for spring break. She is in the backseat, her brother is driving, and
his best friend is hogging "shotgun". They are driving through the desert of New Mexico on their way to Phoenix. It's dark
and rainy, the guys have been drinking, and they hit something in the road. Lucy convinces her brother to turn around and
check it out. When they retrace their path, they discover a dead girl.
Oh man, now what? The three teens are in shock. The nearest house is owned by an artist named Beth. She helps them
out by dialing 911 and taking them in out of the rain. The police arrive and begin the investigation. Due to the presence of
beer fumes in the car, Lucy's brother Jamie is hauled to jail for the night. Beth agrees to let Lucy and Kit stay the night at
her house.
The teens are soon cleared of any wrong-doing when it's discovered that the girl died of a heart attack and was probably
already dead when her body was left at the side of the road. Jamie is released from jail, and the three remain at the artist's
house until the investigation is wrapped up. Meanwhile, Lucy can't sleep and believes she must help catch the person who
left this girl on the side of the road.
DESERT CROSSING grabs the reader right from the start. Lucy's first-person narrative is real and honest. Many things
complicate the teens' situation. Jamie is attracted to Beth the artist, Kit and Lucy begin a questionable relationship, and
there are tense phone calls to update Lucy's parents. All are surrounded by questions about the dead girl, but Elise Broach
keeps things flowing so smoothly, the pages seem to fly by.
