An engrossing blend of murder mystery and family story.
Cameron Weaver’s father tried to kill his mother, and now they are on the run, again.
Cameron and his mother have moved into a “creep house” in Wolf Hollow, a house perhaps haunted and rumored to have been the site of murders and bodies never recovered. What seems to be known is the former owner of the house, Mr. McTavish, was an abusive husband and father, and some believe he murdered his son, wife, and her lover. Cameron seems to see the ghost of young Jacky McTavish, and his active imagination begins concocting murder scenarios, such as bodies wrapped in plastic and hanging from a rafter in the nailed-shut attic. Stratton masterfully constructs a creepy gothic setting, using italicized interior monologue to show Cameron’s mind at odds with himself, and readers will soon suspect that Cameron may well be unhinged as they try to discern what is real and what is the product of Cameron’s “thinking like a lunatic.” A monstrous, stalking father, unhinging nightmares, a ghostly boy, wild dogs, and a moldy basement add creepy deliciousness to a murder mystery and tale of a boy who, in trying to solve a mystery, may just discover what a loving family might be.
An engrossing blend of murder mystery and family story. (Suspense. 12-16)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4926-0938-4
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2015
A trifle—but a sustaining one.
Glimpses of the life of the titular Isobel, who sees herself as “just a girl from where nothing really happens,” presented as a charmingly idiosyncratic scrapbook.
Divided into three sections—Me; Friends, Otters, College & Art; and Love—the journal is immediately immersive, placing readers directly into Isobel’s world. It assumes those readers are sympathetically thumbing through its pages, nodding and saying, “oh, me, too!” The narrative is very loosely structured around Harrop’s life-as-inner-monologue, filled with references to Beyonce, friends, British pop stars, thrift shopping and tea. Readers meet family members (but only as a point of reference), and though Harrop sketches her friends, imbuing each miniportrait with real personality and a rather Sendak-ian verve, they don’t play roles in any anecdotes or stories. Indeed, the entire concept of story is beside the point here, as Harrop’s work reads like a Tumblr re-organized by hashtag rather than by date. Although most illustrations are by hand and Harrop includes pages scanned in from her actual diary, the overall conceit is of an online commonplace book brought into print. Some readers may wonder about the point of such an exercise. These readers are not the intended audience, who will see themselves, their interests and their remix approach to life reflected in the many pages of impossibly cute animal drawings and Lauren Child–like collages of sketches and photographs.
A trifle—but a sustaining one. (Graphic memoir. 12-16)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-63079-003-5
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Switch/Capstone
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2014
An exercise in reading frustration.
Sixteen-year-old metal head Josh Walker whines his way through life.
Seemingly told through writings in a leather-bound journal given to him by his mother, the book follows Josh as he strives to achieve several goals before his 17th birthday. These goals range from kissing a girl to owning a Randy Rhoads Flying V Jackson guitar. It’s a shame that “gaining a larger sense of perspective” isn’t on the list. Despite presenting a list of objectives, the actual narrative is limp and shapeless. Josh is infuriatingly self-involved, so much so that the first-person perspective thwarts reader engagement. Everyone else in his life is interesting and dynamic and has other things going on, but Josh’s lack of concern for those around him makes it impossible for readers to glean anything beyond minor glimpses into a world with far more involving characters. Instead they get a novel filled with pointless teen grumblings and awkward sexual frustration. Most offensive is the novel’s denouement, which grants this shallow teen’s wishes for material things. Josh gets everything he wanted, and none of it is earned, just falling into his lap for no reason. Josh doesn’t become a better son, brother or friend, which makes the entire enterprise feel pointless.
An exercise in reading frustration. (Fiction. 12-16)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-63079-000-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Switch/Capstone
Review Posted Online: May 27, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
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