Review Detail

‘The Zee Files’ by Tina Wells tells the story of Mackenzie Carmichael—better known as Zee—and her transition from living in California to living in London, while spending her school year at boarding school. Once there, she deals with typical ninth grade troubles, such as staying in touch with her friends. One is back home in California, and the other moved to Paris with her parents. She’s also meeting plenty of new people, including popular, attractive Archie, along with Jameela, her new roommate who is a ballet dancer, social media influencer Izzy, laid-back Tom, and old friend, Jasper, among others. While trying to navigate her schoolwork, she finds that her new friends are sometimes hard to read, and her old friends aren’t as forthcoming as she remembers.

While she tries to share her life with them, she feels left in the dark, but as the novel progresses, she learns more about what’s going on around her, and she realizes that life can be messy for more than just herself.

Even though there is a sequel coming, the story ends in a somewhat abrupt way, likely leaving readers wanting to know more about what happens when Zee returns to school after spending some time at home. Tina Wells has done a nice job giving the characters personalities that make them unique and intriguing. This makes it good to know that another story in Zee’s life is on the way.

Sometimes the language seemed too old for what ninth graders might choose to say, but all in all, the story was well-crafted, interesting, and will leave readers wanting more.