What People Are Saying About Libby Sternberg's
"Recovering Dad"

"Bianca's poignant story will resonate with the multitudes still looking for their fathers, hoping to find out if they were saints, but ultimately learning they were just human after all."
—Shirley Wetzel

“Bianca Balducci is sixteen, she's a high school junior, and she's certain she boomed her SATs, relegating herself to bottom-of-the-barrel colleges. She's also got a boyfriend who's sending mixed signals and a new boyfriend on hold, and she's hot on the trail of another mystery—one that draws her into the life, and death, of the father she never really knew. The mystery starts when Connie, Bianca's private detective sister, announces that their widowed mother not only intends to marry again, but intends to marry Steve Paluchek, the man Connie has always blamed for their father's death. The deeper Connie draws Bianca into her investigation, the more Bianca wonders about the father she never knew. Who was he? Who killed him? And how involved was Paluchek? Soon, finding the answers becomes a matter of life and death. Witty, smarter than she thinks, and always ready with a sarcastic quip, Bianca's own special brand of humor keeps Recovering Dad from sliding too far into the dark-side as she scrambles to stay ahead of her 20-something sister, Connie. And staying ahead of Connie becomes more important than ever as her determination to prove Paluchek guilty of their father’s death drives her into shaky territory, putting not only herself but Bianca in danger. Between wonder-bras, distant boyfriends, and SAT stresses, Recovering Dad is a fast paced, modern Nancy Drew-type mystery that’s a great read.”
—Debi Markee, Editor and Publisher, Resources for Children’s Writers

“This third installment in the Bianca Balducci mystery series finds its titular character struggling with family and boyfriend problems . . . Sternberg weaves a few too many daily-life details into the narrative; readers will have to wait till the action picks up with some slapstick comedy and an exciting chase scene. Through it all, however, Bianca comes across as a smart, spunky, and sensitive girl . . . and her story emerges as intriguing.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“What strikes the reader most about this series is just how all-American girl-next-door Bianca is. So many mysteries written for YAs have characters that are so much more courageous and intelligent than their readers; Bianca is a girl her readers will find familiar, like them . . . The sisters Balducci operate frequently out of emotion, not exactly cool reasoning, but that makes them all the more believable to YA readers.”
—KLIATT

“Young adults will be fascinated by brave Bianca, who packs more activities into a week than most teens need a year to complete (boomers need a decade). However, her prime effort is to help her normally wiser older sister from doing something insane and potentially deadly. Bianca struggles to understand Connie’s motives in investigating Steve Paluchek’s involvement in her late father’s death, because Steve has always been nice to her, and because she does not really know her dad except from what her siblings and mom told her. In between sleuthing and saving her sister, Bianca worries about her SAT scores, the junior prom, and first love. In her latest Bianca case (see also Uncovering Sadie's Secrets), Libby Sternberg provides a very personal mystery for her teen sleuth to investigate.”
—Harriet Klausner (10 out of 10 stars)

“This is the third in Sternberg's Bianca Balducci, Young Adult mystery series. I've not read the first two, but I have read another book by Sternberg, The Case Against My Brother. I was extremely impressed by that book. It was a complex story of growing up and betrayal in a family. And I really enjoyed this one as well . . . I want to go back and read the other Bianca Balducci books, because I'm sure I want to know her better.”
—Sarah Bewley, award-winning playwright and screenwriter, who’s also written numerous feature stories for national magazines

“The series' heroine comes of age in this third Bianca Balducci mystery. Beset by worries about scoring well on the SATs, figuring out who will accompany her to the Junior/Senior Ball, and avoiding her well-meaning friend's intention to force her into an expensive WonderBra she doesn't want, Bianca encounters more twists than she anticipates in this unpredictable, carefully layered mystery. The story takes a sinister turn when Bianca finds reason to believe her father was a dirty cop but can't tell her sister and partner in crime Connie. In one of the lighter scenes in the book, Bianca, who decides she likes the WonderBra but hails from a modest background, is forced to sacrifice her never-worn bra for a wire she can use to pick the lock on a file cabinet, giving her information on the men she suspects were responsible for her father's death. As her own illusions are crushed and she finds herself forced down darkened alleys with Connie by her side, Bianca unravels the mystery of her father's death while preserving her sister's memories of their dad. With its clever plot, touches of humor, and sophisticated sleuth, this well-written novel is sure to please fans of Bianca.”
—Romance Novelist, and Co-author, Creating Junior Genealogists: Tips and Activities for Family History Fun

“I just finished Libby Sternberg's young adult mystery Recovering Dad! What an enjoyable, fast-paced read, and what a likeable protagonist (and pretty cool teenager) Bianca Balducci is! (She reminded me a bit of my own daughter!) If you have the opportunity, read it!”
—Tracy Broemmer

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