An interesting but ultimately unsatisfying experiment in form.
Why did an 18-year-old artist fall from an overpass in New York City in the middle of the night?
This “investigative” novel reveals the back story to Addison’s meteoric rise from small-town life to the art world’s it girl. Griffin is a character in her own novel as a reporter intent on getting to the bottom of the artist’s death. Addy had always shown a raw talent mixed with a magnetic personality that repelled people as often as it drew them to her. Haunted by voices, on anti-psychotic drugs after attempting suicide, Addy jumped at the chance to attend art school in New York when a video of her swinging from a chandelier, “drunk on fear,” went viral. Swept up in a frenzy of activity, in and out of love, she somehow found time to showcase her creative genius. Snippets of interviews sprinkled with color photographs and paintings form a portrait of a sassy and troubled young woman. The novel’s effectiveness as a tongue-in-cheek indictment of the shallowness of contemporary cultural life is undermined by an overreliance on stereotypes: the philandering father, clueless mother, aggressive agent, gay roommate, and most gratuitous of all, the family’s Hawaiian neighbors, who ask their shaman to perform a ritual of harmonic healing, recognizing that the “spirit here’s been troubled for a real long time.”
An interesting but ultimately unsatisfying experiment in form. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Aug. 12, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-61695-360-7
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Soho Teen
Review Posted Online: May 27, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
A solid sequel about a princess finding her voice.
A newly minted royal navigates her way between royal protocols and her own heart.
Soon after Japanese American Izumi and her mom reconnect with her father, the crown prince of Japan in Tokyo Ever After (2021), Izumi feels as uncertain as before. While her best friends at home in California prepare for college, Izumi debates taking a gap year, questioning whether she even wants to attend college. Her recently acquired title of princess brings even more pressure to attend the prestigious University of Tokyo like her father. When Izumi’s reunited parents announce their engagement, the family is informed that the marriage must be approved by the Imperial Household Council, and their prospects don’t look good; the tabloids have long been critical of Izumi’s and her mother’s manners and commoner status. On the cusp of having her family finally come together, Izumi decides to become the perfect princess to support their cause. This is not without its challenges, however, as her boyfriend and former bodyguard, Akio, breaks up with her to help her family avoid more scandal. Heartbroken Izumi finds unexpected allies while navigating her lingering feelings for Akio and embroiling her cute, officially approved tutor—a young man from a noble lineage—in a fake dating scheme. Themes of family relationships and incremental growth take precedence over romance in the evenly paced plot. The true appeal here is watching Izumi rise to royal expectations while reaffirming her personal values.
A solid sequel about a princess finding her voice. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 31, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-76663-2
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A twisty thriller following a young woman caught in the crosshairs as tragedies compound.
LaRue is a beautiful state-run recreational area in Kentucky, perfect for hunting, fishing—and covering up crimes.
Lucy Michaels lost Clay, her younger brother, to the floodwaters when the LaRue Dam broke nine years ago. Now 18, Lucy splits time between school and the shooting range, where she practices hitting targets with her air rifle. But tragedy continues to haunt her: Martin Carlin, Lucy’s stepbrother, and police officer Deuce Uri, a family friend, are found murdered in the same area where Clay died. The evidence ties their deaths to Neil Clark, Lucy’s ex-boyfriend, whose younger sister, Astrid, is mysteriously missing. Lucy doesn’t believe Neil killed her stepbrother—she thinks others may have had a motive. After all, Martin suspected that the LaRue Dam disaster wasn’t an accident. Could he have been right? The story unfolds through Lucy’s perspective, her tense narration effectively portraying a teenage girl who’s been forced to grow up too fast. An honest but weary narrator, she intersperses the present-day timeline with flashbacks to the flood. Well-developed supporting characters, such as rifle coach Parson and private investigator Dana, both help and hinder Lucy’s sleuthing. The setting is richly developed; rural Kentucky permeates Stevens’ atmospheric prose. Most characters are cued white.
A twisty thriller following a young woman caught in the crosshairs as tragedies compound. (discussion questions) (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9780840707109
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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