Cam Smith has only one wish: to escape his criminal family. He has managed to get himself into the prestigious Wheaton Preparatory Academy and plans to go to Princeton when his family shows up to ruin everything.
Cam’s life at his school is going splendidly, with a wonderful, rich girlfriend, Claire, who doesn’t know about his thieving family or that his real name is Skip O’Rourke. It’s all upended when Uncle Wonderful, now the head of the family, essentially kidnaps him and forces him to come home, telling him that his mother tried to commit suicide and now is in the hospital. It turns out that his mom and the family want to involve Cam in a complicated scam that has him killing an old mobster who had murdered their mark’s family. Cam is too smart to trust any of his family, including his mother, but decides to follow through—or at least to appear to do so. All the while he wonders who the family’s real victim might be: the mark, the mobster, or himself. Can Cam find a way to win after all? Writing in Cam’s oh-so-suspicious voice, Taylor milks the plot for comedy, delivering plenty of dark humor. His white, gangster characters come across as more than a bit stereotypical, but it all helps to set up the laughs.
A diverting caper comedy. (Thriller. 12-18)Pub Date: Aug. 23, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-525-42924-1
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
Did you like this book?
BOOK REVIEW
This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression.
25
GET IT
After surviving a suicide attempt, a fragile teen isn't sure she can endure without cutting herself.
Seventeen-year-old Charlie Davis, a white girl living on the margins, thinks she has little reason to live: her father drowned himself; her bereft and abusive mother kicked her out; her best friend, Ellis, is nearly brain dead after cutting too deeply; and she's gone through unspeakable experiences living on the street. After spending time in treatment with other young women like her—who cut, burn, poke, and otherwise hurt themselves—Charlie is released and takes a bus from the Twin Cities to Tucson to be closer to Mikey, a boy she "like-likes" but who had pined for Ellis instead. But things don't go as planned in the Arizona desert, because sweet Mikey just wants to be friends. Feeling rejected, Charlie, an artist, is drawn into a destructive new relationship with her sexy older co-worker, a "semifamous" local musician who's obviously a junkie alcoholic. Through intense, diarylike chapters chronicling Charlie's journey, the author captures the brutal and heartbreaking way "girls who write their pain on their bodies" scar and mar themselves, either succumbing or surviving. Like most issue books, this is not an easy read, but it's poignant and transcendent as Charlie breaks more and more before piecing herself back together.
This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression. (author’s note) (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-101-93471-5
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2016
Categories: TEENS & YOUNG ADULT FICTION | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT SOCIAL THEMES
Did you like this book?
Crowds gather across the United States for the launch of Death-Cast, a company that promises to change the world by predicting the deaths of everyone who subscribes in this prequel to They Both Die at the End (2017).
Orion Pagan, an aspiring author with a heart condition, hopes his phone won’t ring at midnight, but he knows Death-Cast’s call is coming soon. Unlike Orion, Valentino Prince, a model on the verge of his national debut, has no reason to anticipate Death-Cast’s call and isn’t sure if he believes the company’s claims. By coincidence or fate, their lives collide at a party in Times Square, and a single, historic phone call alters the courses of their futures. This heart-pounding story follows the final day of the first Decker, or person who is going to die, and the national chaos of Death-Cast’s premiere. Silvera crafts a web of intricately interconnected character perspectives and conflicts around Orion and Valentino. Apart from Valentino and his twin sister, who are presumed White, most of the characters are Latine, including White-passing Orion, whose family is Puerto Rican. The story confronts heavy topics like grief, abuse, and religious faith with complexity and care. Despite the presumed inevitability of a fatal end to the central romance between Orion and Valentino, Silvera subverts the trope of punishing gay characters with violent tragedy. Familiarity with the original book provides additional context and depth but isn’t essential to understanding the plot.
A rush of emotion and suspense. (Speculative fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-324080-3
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2022
Did you like this book?
© Copyright 2022 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
