This apocalyptic teen drama’s character interactions may draw readers in, but its vigorous story will keep them hooked.
In Holewinski’s debut YA dystopian thriller and series opener, teenage survivors of a catastrophic viral outbreak find a desolate United States where a fiendish few have taken power.
After 13-year-old Andy Christensen loses her mother in a car accident, she and her father opt to spend the summer of 2017 in Bermuda. Then a lethal virus, which started in the United States, kills 6 billion people—all adults, because children, including Andy and her pals Morgan and Charlie Pemberton, are apparently immune. The orphaned kids survive on their own for five years, but after some other boys brutally rape Morgan, the trio decide to leave the island. They set sail for Andy’s home country and soon discover a United States in disarray. After they narrowly elude gun-toting strangers, they meet Ben and Jim Kelly, two cousins who team up with them to look for a new place to live. They endure the heat of New Mexico and later join an Aspen, Colorado, community ruled by a totalitarian, narcissist Russian named Nataliya Ivanova. But in New York City, there’s someone much worse: Sean Taylor, who rules the state and surrounding areas by force. He’s also a misogynist who coaxes women into prostitution and controls people with drugs. When the group gets word that Taylor may have stockpiled some of the virus for his own use, Andy makes it everyone’s mission to put a stop to whatever he may be planning. Holewinski injects realism into her apocalyptic tale: although the survivalists are mere children, Andy has skills that she picked up from her surgeon father, and Charlie’s IQ is off the charts. What they can’t already do, they practice, such as by working on car engines. Melodrama occasionally seeps into the plot, giving readers a reminder of the characters’ immaturity; Andy, for example, takes an instant dislike to Nataliya because the Russian blatantly flirts with Ben and Jim. The novel’s second half is decidedly intense as the group faces danger from Taylor and his unpleasant batch of cronies. Holewinski also drops in surprises throughout her book, including a pregnancy, a kidnapping, and a shock when it’s finally revealed what Taylor’s doing with the virus.
This apocalyptic teen drama’s character interactions may draw readers in, but its vigorous story will keep them hooked.Pub Date: March 14, 2016
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 274
Publisher: Delirious Pixie
Review Posted Online: March 29, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An unflinching portrayal of the devastating effects of domestic violence.
After a horrific domestic violence incident, Zoey Ward and her family finally find their footing in Las Vegas only to have their lives overturned by a house fire.
Learning that her father has been recently released from prison, Zoey suspects he had something to do with the blaze. After their lives go up in flames, literally, Zoey along with her mom and her younger siblings, Kate and Cole, flee Las Vegas with the help of her older brother, Will, and his best friend, Tristan. They take refuge in California, where Tristan and his sister welcome them into a world where things seem hopeful and more stable than anything they have ever known. Yet the fear of being hunted down by her father consumes Zoey. The story is narrated from Zoey’s and Tristan’s first-person perspectives, and Gray (Run Away With Me, 2017, etc.) has masterfully captured the uncertainty and terror that come from domestic violence. Tristan and Zoey share a budding romance in which Zoey slowly but surely learns to love and be loved in a nondestructive, healthy way despite her fears and reservations. With everything she has been through, Zoey is the underdog readers will find themselves rooting for. Gray spares no detail in this intense tale. All characters are assumed to be white; Tristan is dyslexic, and there are several queer characters.
An unflinching portrayal of the devastating effects of domestic violence. (Fiction. 16-adult)Pub Date: Dec. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5344-4281-8
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2019
A compulsively readable YA novel that seems like an adult romance, which may appeal to older teenagers looking for something...
An orphan enters a world of privilege and decadence after she’s taken in by a wealthy family in this debut YA romance.
Seventeen-year-old Ella Harper is determined to overcome a difficult childhood. Raised by a single mother, she’s never met her father; however, she has a few clues as to his identity: his name is Steve, and her mother met him while he was in the U.S. Navy. After her mother’s death, Ella moves to a small town in Tennessee, enrolls in school, and takes a job as a stripper. One day, a man named Callum Royal comes to her school and tells her that Steve died and he’s her new guardian. They served together in the Navy, he says, before they built a successful aviation company. He’s helping to settle Steve’s estate and support the daughter whom Steve never located. Wary of his motives but hoping to learn more about her father, Ella accompanies Callum to his estate, where she meets his five sons, Gideon, Reed, Easton, and twins Sawyer and Sebastian. Their mother died under questionable circumstances, and they have a strained relationship with Callum. They’re also openly hostile toward Ella, particularly Reed. Ella soon discovers dark undercurrents in the family while also discovering her attraction to the sullen Reed. They fall in love, but secrets from the past soon threaten their relationship. Watt’s novel moves along at a brisk, enjoyable pace, and it’s built on an intriguing premise with well-developed characters. She doesn’t overplay her hand by revealing too much too soon; instead, small details, such as a mysterious bruise on Reed’s face, lead to shocking revelations later in the story. Ella is a dynamic, sympathetic protagonist who appreciates Callum’s generosity while trying to remain grounded. Although her relationship with Reed begins on an antagonistic note, it gradually evolves into one that crackles with passion. However, some of their scenes together are more erotic than many written for adult novels, so they might be more appropriate for an older YA or adult audience.
A compulsively readable YA novel that seems like an adult romance, which may appeal to older teenagers looking for something in the vein of Gossip Girl.Pub Date: April 4, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-68230-456-3
Page Count: 370
Publisher: EverAfter Platinum
Review Posted Online: April 21, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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