A strong beginning that will leave readers hungry for more.
Subterfuge is the name of the game at an elite and secretive prep school.
Seventeen-year-old Italian-American November was born in August. Though she tragically lost her mother at age 6, she has an enviable life in small-town Connecticut, a strong relationship with her dad, and a mentor in her Aunt Jo. That is until, due to a family emergency, her father sends her away to a covert boarding school. Instead of mathematics and literature, students at the Academy Absconditi learn how to wield weapons both physical and psychological, and history is taught so they might manipulate the future. Guileless November quickly allies herself with her studious Egyptian roommate, Layla, and Layla’s handsome brother, Ash. When a fellow student turns up dead, November must expose the truth, including her own connection to the victim and the influential Council of Families, while navigating a minefield of misinformation. The first-person narration is unreliable due to the protagonist’s ignorance of the society in which she moves, while surreptitious behavior by the supporting characters forces the reader to be as wary as November ought to be. Revelations are well-paced, though astute readers are apt to pick up several of the dropped clues (but some are dropped and not resolved). Red herrings or possible threads that will be woven into future plots? Anything is possible in this world of cloaks and daggers.
A strong beginning that will leave readers hungry for more. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: March 26, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-525-57908-3
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Dec. 18, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2019
With a shrewd, scythe-wielding protagonist of color, Dread Nation is an exciting must-read.
Fighting the undead is a breeze for Jane, but the fight for freedom? That’s a different story.
The Civil War is over, but mostly because the dead rose at Gettysburg—and then started rising everywhere else. Now the dangerous task of killing these shamblers rests on black people and Native Americans taken from their homes and forced into combat training schools at a young age. Jane McKeene, a black teen born to a white mother, is nearly finished with her training. She’s fierce with a scythe but longs to find her way home to her mother. However, her plan is thwarted when she and her friends run afoul of a corrupt mayor and are sent to a Western outpost called Summerland. Sinister secrets lurk beneath the surface there, and the more Jane discovers, the more determined she is to escape, especially as the shamblers keep multiplying. All the classic elements of the zombie novel are present, but Ireland (Promise of Shadows, 2014, etc.) takes the genre up a notch with her deft exploration of racial oppression in this alternative Reconstruction-era America. It’s no coincidence that the novel will prompt readers to make connections with today’s racial climate.
With a shrewd, scythe-wielding protagonist of color, Dread Nation is an exciting must-read. (Historical fiction/horror. 14-adult)Pub Date: April 3, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-257060-4
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 4, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2018
A fast-paced and strongly characterized but disorienting mystery.
Everyone in Ashling knows the story of Veronica Green, who was found murdered in the woods—but no one knows the truth.
Social outcast Hazel and her popular twin, Beth, were inseparable until lies tore them apart. On Halloween Eve, after Beth abandons her at a party, Hazel decides to let loose for once. The next morning, she barely remembers kissing her crush or using a Ouija board to summon the ghost of Veronica, a girl about their age who died 26 years ago. But those seem like small problems when she realizes Beth never made it home—despite their fraught relationship, Hazel is determined to find her sibling and mend their relationship. Beth’s reappearance doesn’t bring reassurance, however; Hazel is alarmed by the announcement, “I’m not Beth….My name is Veronica Green.” It seems that Veronica is back, and she’s ready to seek revenge on those responsible for her murder. This supernatural thriller explores the impact of truth and lies as a group of teens unearths a dark secret that their town attempted to bury. Although consistently suspenseful, the plot twists rely on delayed explanations, and the supernatural elements of the story inelegantly mash together spiritualism and Greek mythology. Both Hazel and Beth (who’s nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns) are complex, dynamic characters. Apart from Beth’s friend Phoebe, who has “deep brown skin,” significant characters are cued white.
A fast-paced and strongly characterized but disorienting mystery. (resources) (Supernatural thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: April 7, 2026
ISBN: 9781464237010
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2026
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