Victoria Asher and her older brother are untimely orphans when their parents die in a plane crash.
Oxblood
The Victoria Asher Novels
by AnnaLisa Grant
Open Road Media Teen & Tween
September 2016
After a settlement and after her brother is old enough to take custody of her, Victoria finds herself on her own for a summer while her brother is on a work assignment. When she receives a package with his journal and the word "oxblood" she comes to believe he's in trouble. When she calls around looking for him she can't find him anywhere - it's clear he hasn't been honest about what he was doing in Italy.
Victoria travels to Italy to find her brother [SPOILER] only to find herself in front of a man who works for interpol, where apparently her brother was working to combat sex trafficking. She joins the team to find her brother and stop the criminals. [END SPOILERS]
There are a lot of plot twists to keep the young reader interested. Comedy and a little bit of romance as well. Victoria Asher is a good heroine - fearless, smart and tenacious. Only a few minor cuss words are spoken by the bad guys.
Overall a fun, clean novel for middle schoolers aged 14 and up.
