The Virtual Life of Lexie Diamond

This is a terrific piece of work, an engaging and original combination of coming-of-age drama, detective story and magic realism with strong elements of comedy. Lexie Diamond, the 13-year-old narrator of the story, copes with the death of her mother, her father's developing romantic relationship, and insecurity about her relationships with peers. So compete is Lexie's immersion in the virtual world of computers and the internet that she sees the world and other people in terms of computer and web metaphors. The reader fears for Lexie's mental health at times (because of her obsessiveness about the cyberworld), but we are made to care as deeply about her as readers a half century ago did about J.D. Salinger's Holden Caulfield Ms. Foyt's courage and sheer nerve are wonderful to behold, and this book offers great inspiration and understanding to girls at this awkward stage of life. --Judith Searle, author of The Literary Enneagram

THE VIRTUAL LIFE OF LEXIE DIAMOND is a suspenseful "whodunit" from actress and screenwriter Victoria Foyt, a first novel that effectively covers a wide gamut of emotional ground. Fourteen-year-old Lexie copes with alienation at school and her divorced parents' disappointment with her computer-driven life. When her mother is killed in a mysterious car crash, Lexie finds credible evidence of foul play and is forced to adapt, change, and grow as person in order to follow the clues. Lexie's suspicions grow as her father's fiancé shows her dark side after a series of private confrontations, actions which drive Lexie to make contact with her mother in cyberspace. To further complicate her life, Lexie must learn to trust people in "real time;" both her hunky neighbor and a popular "diva" at school, both of whom wish to be her friend. Foyt adroitly welds the ether world of cyberspace with many common teen issues in both of Lexie's worlds. Her teen protagonist must use her strengths and weaknesses to solve the mystery of her mother's death and to save her father. As a result, the author has created a compelling character and an electrifying story that will hold younger readers until the last page. A must-read! 5 stars. Reviewed by: Mark Frye, author and reviewer