An unusual twist on the typical sick teenager story.
Seventeen-year-old Abby feels like life is going well until a red patch on her leg refuses to clear up.
Abby’s life is on a pretty good trajectory until she discovers she has Hansen’s disease, also known as leprosy. Suddenly, everything she thought was important—being a pretty, popular, naturally blonde cheerleader—is replaced by having to deal with erupting skin, numb feet, headaches, sore joints, and traveling away from her family to receive medical treatment. As her world unravels, however, her views on what’s important in life begin to change, and the loss of friends, cheerleading, and popularity begins to seem not that bad. The shame she feels at having Hansen’s disease becomes easier to understand as she learns about the long history of discrimination against Hansen’s patients. Unfortunately, Little (Niagara Motel, 2016, etc.) drives these self-discoveries home relentlessly, and the characters tend to feel more like symbols of thematic growth than actual people. Little weaves a wealth of interesting research into her descriptions of the disease and the treatment center, which grounds the tale in authenticity. A subplot involving Abby’s brother, Dean, and his coming to terms with being gay offers another interesting diversion. The book follows a white default.
An unusual twist on the typical sick teenager story. (Fiction. 15-18)Pub Date: Sept. 11, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-7352-6261-4
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Penguin Teen
Review Posted Online: June 17, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
Brilliant and remarkably unsettling.
The menacing, post-apocalyptic world of Marbury is again richly imagined in this stunning sequel to The Marbury Lens (2010).
Four boys at the heart of the first novel return for another harrowing journey. Jack, whose abduction and near-rape was the catalyst that brought about his descent into Marbury, his best friend, Conner, and Ben and Griffin, two boys they first encountered in the alternate world, begin by attempting to destroy the lens that clutches Jack in its grip, compelling him to return repeatedly to the horrific world of cannibals, monsters and death. When they smash it, they inadvertently create a schism between dimensions—their hometown of Glenbrook becomes a terrifying mirror of Marbury with many variations in between—making escape nearly impossible. As in the first, readers will not be sure what is real, what is nightmare, what may be metaphor. Smith has created a fantastically effective, sinister setting and imbued it with characters that are loyal and decent, even at their most desperate. Unrelentingly harsh in tone and language (“Fuck this…I’ll show you who he is. We’ll fucking go kill him. I’ll bring back his fucking head”), this will be devoured by fans of the first, despite the fact that it offers few clear answers, right to the surprisingly gentle and wise conclusion.
Brilliant and remarkably unsettling. (Horror/fantasy. 16 & up)Pub Date: Oct. 2, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-250-00487-1
Page Count: 480
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: Aug. 7, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2012
Gory horror that thinks nihilist incoherence is the same thing as edgy. It's wrong
A court-mandated hike becomes zombie flick, laden with 1980s pop-culture references.
Seventeen-year-old Nick's life could be better. Since his worthless father, the Dude, "Has Other Concerns" than buying groceries, Nick works at the chicken factory to earn food and medicine for his oddball baby sister. An accident at the factory leaves Nick jailed for...well, it's not clear what he's jailed for. Living in an unjust world, perhaps? Nick’s troupe of realistically foulmouthed delinquents are soon fighting off chicken-gnawing, entrails-chomping zombies at the top of a mountain, calling one another “fag” every step of the way. In prose that consists of far too many one-sentence and even one-word paragraphs ("Had to see. / If it was. / Skoal. / Another step"), Nick has masturbatory fantasies about the hottest girl zombie, even while mooning over the object of his affections, Petal Gazes, a manic pixie punk-rock girl with anime eyes and a "Bauhaus" hoodie. Like Pete Hautman’s Rash (2006), this over-the-top boys'-prison-camp adventure resembles a grown-up Holes (1998), but lacks the heart and ultimate optimism of either. The sexed-up face-eating may please dedicated fans of the shambling undead, despite self-aware sarcasm that explicitly mocks the commercialism of current zombie fandom.
Gory horror that thinks nihilist incoherence is the same thing as edgy. It's wrong . (Horror. 15-17)Pub Date: Sept. 25, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-7636-5947-9
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: July 17, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
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