Zipped

Mick Nichols has always admired—even had a secret crush on—his young stepmother, Nora, so when he discovers email evidence that she has been having an affair with a mysterious man named Alexander Selkirk, he is devastated—both for his father, and for himself.

Mick doesn’t immediately go to Nora or his father with his suspicions, choosing instead to look for more clues on his own and hopefully discover who Selkirk is. In the meantime, he starts a new job as a landscape helper at a retirement community, part of a group of students from his high school working there, including Lisa Doyle, a girl he’s interested in.

Lisa and Mick become friends, but a romantic relationship is complicated by Lisa’s attraction for a Mormon missionary who is in town, and Mick’s growing friendship with Myra, a college girl, has him confused about which relationship to pursue. The two, however, are united in their bond against their obnoxious supervisor, who mistreats them and is having a manipulative relationship with Lisa’s best friend Janice.

As the story progresses, Mick discovers more clues about the identity of Nora’s lover, and eventually figures out who the man is. In an uncharacteristic act of vandalism, he attempts to get even with the man, and eventually confronts Nora with his knowledge of what she’s done.

The plot of Zipped is multi-layered, threaded with intriguing subplots that only add to the depth of the characters and their dilemmas without creating confusion. Mick is a likeable character, as are the other players—Lisa, Mick’s father, Lisa’s missionary friend, and even Nora, despite her failings. Readers will appreciate the numerous sources of suspense, including Lisa’s pursuit of missionary Joe, the workplace problems, and the relationship between Mick and Myra. This is a thoughtful, well-designed story with a lot of teen appeal.