A captivating start with uneven follow-through.
An isolated group of girls is threatened when outsiders learn of their existence.
Wren lives on the Hill on an island off the Mainland. The Hill was created by the Colony, an organization that has existed in secret for 67 years, training girls in survival skills using the Manual. The oldest resident acts as Head Girl, and each must leave when she turns 15. With a fresh Departure Ceremony over, Wren becomes Head Girl. Almost immediately, one of the girls under her watch goes missing. After learning she may have been taken into one of the forbidden forests, Wren decides to go after her, disregarding the Manual’s warning that no girls can survive outside the Hill’s boundary. She brings Quinn, who is the Lead Hunter and her best friend. As they move deeper into the forest, they discover more than they anticipated: They aren’t alone on the island, and the Manual has been misleading them. Worse still, the Hill has been ambushed in their absence—and Wren’s willing to give her life for her home. Lyrical writing and deep worldbuilding make for an immersive reading experience. A later shift toward constant action dampens the intrigue as character development falls off, but readers will be drawn back in by the promise of a sequel unraveling more secrets of the Colony. Wren is assumed to be White, and Quinn is Black.
A captivating start with uneven follow-through. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: March 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-948340-32-8
Page Count: 296
Publisher: Dottir Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Raw, delicate, and deeply caring.
When Death-Cast doesn’t call, fate intertwines the lives of two boys, both haunted by their pasts and with futures they can’t escape.
In this third installment of the series that opened with 2017’s They Both Die at the End, Paz Dario waits every night for Death-Cast to call—as it should have for his father nearly 10 years ago, when Paz shot him to save his mother’s life. But the call never comes. Death-Cast killed Paz’s dreams of an acting career: No one will hire him now because the world sees him as a villain. When Paz tries (not for the first time) to put an end to his suffering, an unexpected encounter with Alano Rosa, the heir of Death-Cast, stops him. Both in a place of desperation, Alano and Paz sign a contract to live for Begin Days instead of waiting for their End Days. As suspenseful and emotionally wrenching as the previous titles in the series, this new installment explores heavy themes of abuse, mental health, self-harm, and suicide. Paz grapples with a recent diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. Silvera surrounds Alano and Paz with a web of complex relationships. Although the protagonists fall fast for one another and form a deep connection over Alano’s desire to support Paz, Silvera emphasizes the importance of professional help. Both Alano and Paz have Puerto Rican heritage. The cliffhanger ending promises more to come.
Raw, delicate, and deeply caring. (content warning, resources) (Speculative fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9780063240858
Page Count: 720
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
This story is necessary. This story is important.
Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter is a black girl and an expert at navigating the two worlds she exists in: one at Garden Heights, her black neighborhood, and the other at Williamson Prep, her suburban, mostly white high school.
Walking the line between the two becomes immensely harder when Starr is present at the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend, Khalil, by a white police officer. Khalil was unarmed. Khalil’s death becomes national news, where he’s called a thug and possible drug dealer and gangbanger. His death becomes justified in the eyes of many, including one of Starr’s best friends at school. The police’s lackadaisical attitude sparks anger and then protests in the community, turning it into a war zone. Questions remain about what happened in the moments leading to Khalil’s death, and the only witness is Starr, who must now decide what to say or do, if anything. Thomas cuts to the heart of the matter for Starr and for so many like her, laying bare the systemic racism that undergirds her world, and she does so honestly and inescapably, balancing heartbreak and humor. With smooth but powerful prose delivered in Starr’s natural, emphatic voice, finely nuanced characters, and intricate and realistic relationship dynamics, this novel will have readers rooting for Starr and opening their hearts to her friends and family.
This story is necessary. This story is important. (Fiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-249853-3
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2016
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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