Taking place between two time periods at the same institution and told by two students who are questioning the authority, Don't Breathe A Word had my attention from the first chapter. I don't know much about the decade of my parents' childhoods; I have heard bits and pieces about the Cold War paranoia and, of course, have seen the signage for old bomb shelters that were built for this period in our history... yet, I hadn't given much thought to the corruption this fear would give way to.
The allusion of a secret society's "Order, Unity, & Power" quickly lead to hazing and McCarthy-like spies among the students at Hardwick Prep Academy-- something that began in the 1960s (Connie's story) and continues today (Eva's story).
The secrets, mystery, and rebellion kept me turning the pages.
A recommended purchase for 7th grade and up.

DON’T BREATHE A WORD shines a light on the darkness hiding at an elite boarding school and the lengths one girl will go through to join its secret society. Full of mystery and heart, I loved this book!

A mystery, set in two different time periods: today and 1962. Back in 1962, Hardwick Preparatory Academy builds a fallout shelter after all of the cold war scares. Six kids are selected to spend a few days in the shelter to "test it out" but something goes terribly wrong. The shelter isn't spoken of after that. Modern day Eva and the other students at the academy don't even know about the shelter when the story begins. But what happened down there? And why has it been such a secret for almost 60 years? It was fun to see how the modern day Eva works to solve a case that happened in 1962 at her elite boarding school. Fans of Truly Devious will appreciate this story.

I was on pins and needles the whole time I was reading Don't Breathe a Word by Jordyn Taylor. Two words: Plot twist. A must read!