Winans, Justine Pucella. Bianca Torre Is Afraid of Everything. Clarion, 2023. 978-0-358-72164-2. 362 p. $19.99. Grades 7-12.

High-school student, Bianca Torre sums up their own story: “From a gender identity crisis to a goddamn murder.” Mix in anime, manga, Shakespeare, ornithology, the school play, money laundering, a transgender person, first crushes, and over 65 ways to be afraid, and we get Bianca Torre Is Afraid of Everything. Quiet, anxious Bianca couples bird-watching from their bedroom window with people watching. They make a connection with “Mr. Conspiracy,” the tenant across the way; he leaves pictures of birds taped to his window for Bianca to spy with their telescope. What Bianca also gets to see is Mr. Conspiracy’s murder by a person dressed in black robes with a plague doctor mask. When the Los Angeles police brush off Bianca’s witness statement, they enlist their best friend, the popular and straight-A student, Anderson Coleman to help them work out the mystery. Anderson and Bianca do some sleuthing and start to put together clues from a diary found in Mr. Conspiracy’s apartment. Ronan, Anderson’s transgender brother, gets access to the high school’s budget and discovers Valley Quail-mentioned in the diary-is siphoning off funds. The stakes are heightened, though, when Bianca gets life-threatening messages–not a good situation for a person who has a lengthy list of fears that they keep interspersing within the narrative. Besides being a possible murder victim, Bianca is having her own gender identity issues. They are pretty sure they are lesbian and nonbinary, but they have only come out to the Colemans and an admired queer English teacher, Ms. Richards, not to their family. They are absolutely sure they are attracted to Elaine Yoo, a member of the bird club Bianca belongs to; but they are so inexperienced, they lack the confidence to make a move. Coincidentally, the clues to catching the killer include lots of ornithological references, which take Bianca back to the birding hikes. This fast-paced mystery weaves Bianca’s tenuous steps into gender with a whodunit. The ending and some other parts may require a suspension of disbelief, but the humor infused with each plot twist makes it necessary. Recommend this book to those who liked Holly Jackson’s Good Girl’s Guide to Murder. The Colemans and two minor characters are African American; Elaine and some minor characters are Asian-American; all other characters represent as white.

THOUGHTS: Though some plot elements are unbelievable (the ease with which Bianca and Anderson cut class and deal with gun-toting criminals, the nonchalance of Bianca’s parents who leave them with the Andersons while they go stay at a hotel, even after their child has received multiple death threats), Winans’ sense of humor and imagination overpower realistic situations. Bianca’s struggles, too, with coming out to their family and with their fearfulness of almost everything come across realistically. The good news is that everyone to whom Bianca reveals their gender reacts positively. 

Mystery