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A beloved teacher’s disappearance motivates a previously uninspired club to produce a controversial news show. Posey Spade knew to expect culture shock when she moved with her newspaper editor dad from San Francisco to the small rustic town of Wild Pines, California. An aspiring journalist, Posey is undaunted by her new school’s lack of a journalism department and the apathy of the students she meets in its recently formed AV club. But when Ms. Moses, the scrappy young teacher who sponsors the club, goes missing, neither the school administration nor the local police department seem eager to act. The AV club members, who are devoted to Ms. Moses, launch an investigative news show to raise awareness of her case. But the more they dig into Ms. Moses’ personal life, the more questions they unearth and resistance they encounter. Some plot threads are never fleshed out, and as a result, the story functions less as the mystery it presents itself as and more as a tender depiction of found family. Posey is also more audience stand-in than a fully realized person, but the large supporting cast is lovingly and individually characterized. Most residents of Wild Pines are described as white, a fact addressed by one biracial member of the AV club. Many club members are queer, including Posey, who identifies as “bisexual and/or pansexual.” A lackluster mystery that finds surer footing in its study of community.(Mystery. 13-17) Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.