A richly thematic and suspenseful mystery.
A hungry shadow threatens the border and the balance between life and death in this duology closer.
As the East Los Angeles brujx círculo prepares for upcoming ceremonies, Julian and Yadriel struggle with their places in the community. New to his ability to see spirits since his resurrection last month, Julian hates hiding the truth from his older brother, Rio, and the tightknit group of friends who live with them, but the brujx community has strict rules about outsiders. The elders may call Yadriel “Lady Death’s Chosen,” but his training as a brujo isn’t progressing past menial labor. His father insists that “chores build character,” but with recent disturbances in the cemetery and spirits disappearing, Yadriel wants to do more to help. When a dark spot spreads across Julian’s chest, accompanied by troubling visions that pull him toward danger, neither Yadriel nor Julian knows whom to trust—until the sudden arrival of Angel, a nonbinary bruje with the powers of healing and release. But Angel has darkness in their past and secrets of their own. This paranormal mystery centering on Latine characters delves into themes of family, love, grief, and trauma. At times, the plot’s progression lags, but Thomas maintains a thread of ominous suspense. The chapters alternate between Julian’s and Yadriel’s perspectives, and their romance remains a sweet focus and is no longer a source of tension.
A richly thematic and suspenseful mystery. (Paranormal mystery. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2026
ISBN: 9781250894939
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2026
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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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