John Conlan is known as Smoke to the inmates of the Y, a maximum-security juvenile-rehabilitation center, because he seems to have eyes and ears everywhere. In reality, Smoke is able to leave his body and spy invisibly on the friends, family, and enemies of the inmates and guards. He knows no one would believe the truth about his ability, just as no one believes that he didn't kill his English teacher. On one out-of-body journey, Smoke meets someone who can see him: Pink, a gutsy waitress at a dive bar. She is also a medium who might be able to help him find the real killer. This compelling paranormal mystery strikes the right balance between tense, realistic drama and pseudo ghost story, and Cosimano, a warden's daughter, brings authenticity to the depiction of prison life. As in many prison dramas, the difference between good guys and bad guys isn't set in stone; Smoke is a complicated, sympathetic character, and his redemption feels earned.--Hutley, Krista Copyright 2016 Booklist

Gr 9 Up-In juvenile detention, where John Conlan is serving time (he was convicted of a double murder but was spared from adult prison to avoid being near his father), he's known as Smoke and deals in information. Want to find out if your girl is faithful? If your mom is okay? Ask Smoke. His fellow inmates assume that he has strong connections on the outside, but the truth is he can go outside-sort of. A few years earlier, the teen was beaten to death by his father, then revived by the EMTs. He now exists somewhere between life and death and is able to leave his body and slip through the prison walls while everyone is sleeping. The tenuous grip his spirit has on his body is weakening, and he's beginning to think the information he digs up is doing more harm than good, so he's decided to quit his side job completely. When one of his last fact-finding missions leads him to a tough and alluring girl named Pink and he comes across some information that might point to who actually committed the crime he was accused of, Smoke realizes that he has to stay in the game, even though it's getting more dangerous by the day. The story plods along, and the gritty tone results in a feeling of coldness rather than suspense. VERDICT Descriptions of prison life and politics abound, which is the novel's greatest strength, but a slow pace and clunky turns of phrase make this thriller a secondary purchase.-Beth McIntyre, Madison Public Library, WI © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.