Engaging and frighteningly realistic; a suspense-filled winner.
A first-year college student’s experience turns into a nightmare when her roommate’s brother moves in.
Inspired by a real incident at Sarah Lawrence College, Jackson pens a gripping story about mental manipulation and predators disguised as positive influences. Against her parents’ wishes, Jordyn Monroe defers her Yale acceptance to attend Washington, D.C.’s Frazier University; she has a meaningful reason for wanting to choose an institution that’s among the most well-known Historically Black Colleges and Universities. After attending mostly white schools in the suburbs of Westport, Connecticut, Jordyn is excited to no longer be the only Black person in class. She and her three suitemates immediately bond and start thinking of themselves as sisters. When one girl’s older brother needs a place to stay after being released from prison—she says he was framed for credit card fraud—the others immediately welcome him. Devonte is smart, charming, and handsome, and he shares interesting stories about working in the hip-hop industry. He also offers the girls guidance and encourages them to expand their minds. Soon, however, he starts controlling their every move, and Jordyn can’t see a way out. Jackson’s portrayal of Devonte’s subtle brainwashing, leading up to a wholly unanticipated twist, is excellent, although the story wraps up a bit too quickly after the big reveal. The setting is intriguing and adds appeal, although readers may wish for more details about how HBCUs differ from predominantly white institutions.
Engaging and frighteningly realistic; a suspense-filled winner. (Thriller. 15-adult)Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9780063271272
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
A gripping tribute to resilience.
A girl with amnesia and a boy suspected of harming his girlfriend overcome adversity to find the answers they seek.
A 17-year-old girl wakes up in a ditch, disoriented and with no memory of who she is or what happened. Found by the Alton, Oregon, police, she is brought to the station. Soon after, Wayne Boone, a man claiming to be her father, shows up. He has photos of her on his phone and her high school ID card, with the name Mary Boone. Wayne convinces the police to release Mary into his custody. The more time Mary spends with Wayne, however, the weirder things get: He’s unaware of her food allergy, and as her memories start to return, they don’t conform with Wayne’s versions of her life. In the town of Washington City, across the Willamette River, Drew is in a bad place. His girlfriend, Lola, has disappeared, and Drew was the last person to see her. His adoptive dads and cousin are the only ones who support him; everyone else, including the sheriff, thinks he’s responsible for Lola’s disappearance. Intent on finding Lola, Drew finds help in an unlikely ally, Lola’s best friend, Autumn, who is the sheriff’s daughter. But will they find Lola in time? The two immersive storylines bring to life the trials and frustrations each main character faces in this debut, which is a thrilling delight right up to the unexpected and bittersweet conclusion. Most characters are cued white; one of Drew’s dads is Guatemalan.
A gripping tribute to resilience. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Dec. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781728270111
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter.
After a Nigerian British girl goes off to an exclusive boarding school that seems to prey on less-privileged students, she discovers there might be some truth behind an urban legend.
Ife Adebola joins the Urban Achievers scholarship program at pricey, high-pressure Nithercott School, arriving shortly after a student called Leon mysteriously disappeared. Gossip says he’s a victim of the glowing-eyed Changing Man who targets the lonely, leaving them changed. Ife doesn’t believe in the myth, but amid the stresses of Nithercott’s competitive, privileged, majority-white environment, where she is constantly reminded of her state school background, she does miss her friends and family. When Malika, a fellow Black scholarship student, disappears and then returns, acting strangely devoid of personality, Ife worries the Changing Man is real—and that she’s next. Ife joins forces with classmate Bijal and Benny, Leon’s younger brother, to uncover the truth about who the Changing Man is and what he wants. Culminating in a detailed, gory, and extended climactic battle, this verbose thriller tempts readers with a nefarious mystery involving racial and class-based violence but never quite lives up to its potential and peters out thematically by its explosive finale. However, this debut offers highly visually evocative and eerie descriptions of characters and events and will appeal to fans of creature horror, social commentary, and dark academia.
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781250868138
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: June 8, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
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