Attractive characters and the fresh, present-day setting should hook genre fans.
Plum serves up another paranormal-suspense series opener.
Seventeen-year-old Juneau lives in the wilds of post-apocalyptic Alaska, where elder Whit is teaching her to become clan Sage, to connect her mind with the Yara. This mystical energy enables her to Read distant events and people’s motivations and to Conjure, allowing her to manipulate objects remotely and even to become briefly invisible. Returning from a hunting expedition, Juneau discovers that helicopters have attacked her village and carried off everyone in it. She begins to track them down, then discovers that the story she had been told all her life is a lie: She and her clan are not survivors of World War III, supposedly fought in 1984. Instead of devastation, she finds the vibrant contemporary city of Anchorage. Going undercover in a modern world she doesn’t understand, Juneau begins to lose her paranormal powers. Meeting Miles, the son of the powerful man behind the underlying plot, she partners uneasily with him in a trek across the west in search of her clan. The story morphs from paranormal exploration to a chase thriller as Juneau narrowly eludes her pursuers. Miles and Juneau trade narration duties, their present-tense voices nicely distinct; Juneau speaks formally, with a slightly archaic accent, while Miles uses a pleasantly normal contemporary vernacular.
Attractive characters and the fresh, present-day setting should hook genre fans. (Paranormal suspense. 12-18)Pub Date: May 6, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-06-222560-3
Page Count: 336
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: March 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2014
A treat for mystery readers who enjoy being kept in suspense.
Everyone believes that Salil Singh killed his girlfriend, Andrea Bell, five years ago—except Pippa Fitz-Amobi.
Pip has known and liked Sal since childhood; he’d supported her when she was being bullied in middle school. For her senior capstone project, Pip researches the disappearance of former Fairview High student Andie, last seen on April 18, 2014, by her younger sister, Becca. The original investigation concluded with most of the evidence pointing to Sal, who was found dead in the woods, apparently by suicide. Andie’s body was never recovered, and Sal was assumed by most to be guilty of abduction and murder. Unable to ignore the gaps in the case, Pip sets out to prove Sal’s innocence, beginning with interviewing his younger brother, Ravi. With his help, Pip digs deeper, unveiling unsavory facts about Andie and the real reason Sal’s friends couldn’t provide him with an alibi. But someone is watching, and Pip may be in more danger than she realizes. Pip’s sleuthing is both impressive and accessible. Online articles about the case and interview transcripts are provided throughout, and Pip’s capstone logs offer insights into her thought processes as new evidence and suspects arise. Jackson’s debut is well-executed and surprises readers with a connective web of interesting characters and motives. Pip and Andie are white, and Sal is of Indian descent.
A treat for mystery readers who enjoy being kept in suspense. (Mystery. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-9636-0
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind.
In this companion novel to 2013’s If He Had Been With Me, three characters tell their sides of the story.
Finn’s narrative starts three days before his death. He explores the progress of his unrequited love for best friend Autumn up until the day he finally expresses his feelings. Finn’s story ends with his tragic death, which leaves his close friends devastated, unmoored, and uncertain how to go on. Jack’s section follows, offering a heartbreaking look at what it’s like to live with grief. Jack works to overcome the anger he feels toward Sylvie, the girlfriend Finn was breaking up with when he died, and Autumn, the girl he was preparing to build his life around (but whom Jack believed wasn’t good enough for Finn). But when Jack sees how Autumn’s grief matches his own, it changes their understanding of one another. Autumn’s chapters trace her life without Finn as readers follow her struggles with mental health and balancing love and loss. Those who have read the earlier book will better connect with and feel for these characters, particularly since they’ll have a more well-rounded impression of Finn. The pain and anger is well written, and the novel highlights the most troublesome aspects of young adulthood: overconfidence sprinkled with heavy insecurities, fear-fueled decisions, bad communication, and brash judgments. Characters are cued white.
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind. (author’s note, content warning) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781728276229
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
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