She Said/She Saw by Norah McClintock

Tegan was in the backseat of Clark's SUV when someone walked up and shot both Clark and Marvin, both in the front. She wasn't looking at the shooter, she was looking at Marvin, so when the police ask her for a description of the shooter, she can't tell them anything.

But no one believes she didn't see anything. Not her friends, who are shunning her, not her family, who want her to tell the truth, and not Clark and Marvin's families, who are convinced she's scared for her own life and can't be concerned with her two best friends.

Kelly, Tegan's sister, believes Tegan at first. It's entirely possible she didn't see anything. Then she finds out that Marvin, who had a crush on Kelly, told Tegan. And Tegan convinced Marvin to get drugs for the party they were at, even though he had gone clean. Not sure what to believe, Kelly also shuns Tegan.

Until Tegan decides the only way to tell the truth is to flush out the killer herself.

The story is told from Tegan and Kelly's points of view and could have been a much longer book. I found the concept pretty amazing, and enjoy the way McClintock builds suspense and doubt. Both main characters are likable but have their moments.

Payback Time by Carl Deuker

Dan wants to be a reporter. He's a senior this year, and is confident he'll be chosen editor of the school newspaper. When his classmate Alyssa is chosen instead, Dan can't believe it. Even worse, he's given sports instead of features.

Now Dan, or Mitch as everyone calls him, decides to do the best he can. He's determined to find a story worthy of his talent and along with his photographer, Kimi, he thinks he's found one in the new student Andy. Andy also plays football, although he doesn't appear in public to be any good. Catching him playing when he thinks no one is looking, Dan discovers Andy has a lot of talent.

Mitch and Kimi decide they need to expose Andy's story. What they don't realize is why Andy is so secretive.

While the story doesn't start off as a thriller, it definitely ends that way. Mitch or Dan, is a great character and narrator. There is lots of football talk--some volleyball too. But the reader could be confused by what's going on on the field if they don't know anything. Mitch and Kimi spend a lot of time following Andy around and trying to figure out his story, so sports are not the main issue. Many of the characters here are more than 2-dimensional.