A book that manages to be both disturbing and boring.
Beau Devereaux seems to have it all—a beautiful girlfriend, a high school football career, his dad’s business to inherit at the right time. Unfortunately, he’s also got an uncontrollable anger issue.
Beau manages to keep his murderous rage in check, but his girlfriend’s twin sister seems to bring it out in him the most. Not because he hates her, though that’s what everyone thinks. Instead, he’s obsessed with her. He wants to own her and hurt her while still maintaining his reputation as an all-around good guy. But his appetites seem to be growing, and when faced with temptation in the form of other girls, he can’t help himself. Weis (The Keeper of the Dead, 2017, etc.) and Astor (Blackwell, 2017, etc.) present a cast of mostly white characters who never manage to escape their respective personas and instead rely on well-worn, overly familiar thoughts and dialogue to convey their novelistic purposes. Likewise, the plot is predictable and repetitive. Again and again, Beau struggles with how to satisfy his urges while maintaining his rep, and his girlfriend wavers exhaustively on the question of true love. Descriptions of sexual brutality, rape, bondage, and violence against women are plentiful.
A book that manages to be both disturbing and boring. (Fiction. 16-18)Pub Date: Oct. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-944109-14-1
Page Count: 375
Publisher: Vesuvian Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2018
A sweet, slow-paced novel about a teen learning to love her body.
Greer Walsh wishes she were one person...unfortunately, with her large breasts, she feels like she’s actually three.
High school sophomore and math whiz Greer is self-conscious about her body. Maude and Mavis, as she’s named her large breasts, are causing problems for her. When Greer meets new kid Jackson Oates, she wishes even more that she had a body that she didn’t feel a need to hide underneath XXL T-shirts. While trying to impress Jackson, who has moved to the Chicago suburbs from Cleveland, Greer decides to try out for her school’s volleyball team. When she makes JV, Greer is forced to come to terms with how her body looks and feels in a uniform and in motion as well as with being physically close with her teammates. The story is told in the first person from Greer’s point of view. Inconsistent storytelling as well as Greer’s (somewhat distracting) personified inner butterfly make this realistic novel a slow but overall enjoyable read. The story contains elements of light romance as well as strong female friendships. Greer is white with a Christian mom and Jewish dad; Jackson seems to be white by default, and there is diversity among the secondary characters.
A sweet, slow-paced novel about a teen learning to love her body. (Fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: June 23, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-1524-8
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
An atmospheric and creepy page-turner.
Seventeen-year-old Anna Cicconi finds herself in the middle of a mystery when she takes a summer nanny job in the swanky Hamptons enclave of Herron Hills.
Frick begins her story at the end. Well, sort of. August in the Hamptons signals the turning of the leaves and sees the grisly discovery of 19-year-old Zoe Spanos’ body. Zoe disappeared on New Year’s Eve, and Anna, who happens to strongly resemble her, has confessed to her murder. However, Martina Green, who runs the podcast Missing Zoe, doesn’t believe Anna did it and attempts to find out what really happened. Flash back to June: Hard-partying recent high school grad Anna sees her new job caring for Tom and Emilia Bellamy’s 8-year-old daughter as a fresh start. As one sun-drenched day melts into the next, Anna is drawn to Windemere, the neighboring Talbots’ looming, Gothic-style home, and to the brooding, mysterious Caden Talbot. But Anna can’t shake a feeling of déjà vu, and she’s having impossible memories that intertwine her life with Zoe’s. Frick easily juggles multiple narratives, and readers will enjoy connecting the dots of her cleverly plotted thriller inspired by Daphne du Maurier’s classic Rebecca. Anna and Zoe are white; the supporting cast includes biracial characters Martina (Latinx/white) and Caden (black/white). Caden discusses grappling with being raised by white adoptive parents, facing racialized suspicion as Zoe’s boyfriend, and feeling marginalized at Yale.
An atmospheric and creepy page-turner. (map) (Thriller. 14-adult)Pub Date: June 30, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5344-4970-1
Page Count: 384
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: March 10, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
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