Deft pacing and engaging characters make this an intriguing exploration of life, death, and all the choices in between.
Kramer makes an impressive debut with a twisted tale of a teenager who wakes up to find himself in an elite academy of grim reapers.
Seventeen-year-old Shawn Turner doesn’t remember dying. But when he suddenly finds himself at Wayward Academy for training on how to become a reaper of souls, he’s forced to admit that he is, in fact, deceased: “This time Shawn didn’t need the grip of the gate to stop the blood flow in his body, because not only did Shawn not know where he was; he had no heartbeat.” As he struggles to adjust to his new role and surroundings, he makes fast friends with Quintin “Q” Prodit, Maple Collins, and Jay Musters. Wayward Academy teachers instruct the group on how to properly collect souls. Once given a name and approximate time of death, they must retrieve the glowing orb above the dead body to make sure the deceased moves on to the “next phase”—otherwise, they will turn into a ghost. But when Shawn is confronted with collecting a living person (called a “grounder”) named Cirie who can see him in the mortal world, the newbie reaper questions whether he can actually save his charge instead of ferrying him to his final resting place. But Shawn and his new friends must decide whether they’re willing to pit themselves against the other reapers to take a stand and save a soul. Kramer’s keen eye for detail makes this novel a thoroughly enjoyable, albeit occasionally gruesome, tour through the underworld. Whether it’s descriptions of ghostly horses (“In contrast to the horse’s dark coat were bones visible on the side of its face and yellowing with decay. Where the right eye should have been was an empty socket that had skin flaking off like a bad case of dandruff”) or depictions of suicide, heavy themes often mix with lighter moments. All of that makes for an action-packed yet thoughtful novel that both young adults and adults can enjoy. A cliffhanger ending brings hope for a sequel.
Deft pacing and engaging characters make this an intriguing exploration of life, death, and all the choices in between.Pub Date: Oct. 11, 2022
ISBN: 9798218079185
Page Count: 328
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter.
After a Nigerian British girl goes off to an exclusive boarding school that seems to prey on less-privileged students, she discovers there might be some truth behind an urban legend.
Ife Adebola joins the Urban Achievers scholarship program at pricey, high-pressure Nithercott School, arriving shortly after a student called Leon mysteriously disappeared. Gossip says he’s a victim of the glowing-eyed Changing Man who targets the lonely, leaving them changed. Ife doesn’t believe in the myth, but amid the stresses of Nithercott’s competitive, privileged, majority-white environment, where she is constantly reminded of her state school background, she does miss her friends and family. When Malika, a fellow Black scholarship student, disappears and then returns, acting strangely devoid of personality, Ife worries the Changing Man is real—and that she’s next. Ife joins forces with classmate Bijal and Benny, Leon’s younger brother, to uncover the truth about who the Changing Man is and what he wants. Culminating in a detailed, gory, and extended climactic battle, this verbose thriller tempts readers with a nefarious mystery involving racial and class-based violence but never quite lives up to its potential and peters out thematically by its explosive finale. However, this debut offers highly visually evocative and eerie descriptions of characters and events and will appeal to fans of creature horror, social commentary, and dark academia.
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781250868138
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: June 8, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in.
Black is back with another dark tale of Faerie, this one set in Faerie and launching a new trilogy.
Jude—broken, rebuilt, fueled by anger and a sense of powerlessness—has never recovered from watching her adoptive Faerie father murder her parents. Human Jude (whose brown hair curls and whose skin color is never described) both hates and loves Madoc, whose murderous nature is true to his Faerie self and who in his way loves her. Brought up among the Gentry, Jude has never felt at ease, but after a decade, Faerie has become her home despite the constant peril. Black’s latest looks at nature and nurture and spins a tale of court intrigue, bloodshed, and a truly messed-up relationship that might be the saving of Jude and the titular prince, who, like Jude, has been shaped by the cruelties of others. Fierce and observant Jude is utterly unaware of the currents that swirl around her. She fights, plots, even murders enemies, but she must also navigate her relationship with her complex family (human, Faerie, and mixed). This is a heady blend of Faerie lore, high fantasy, and high school drama, dripping with description that brings the dangerous but tempting world of Faerie to life.
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-31027-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
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