An exploration of Russian folklore as metaphor adds an intriguing element to an otherwise lackluster story.
A white California teenager must grapple with the unknown after her father goes missing while on assignment in Ukraine.
Seventeen-year-old Charlotte is used to her journalist dad’s traveling to faraway places to cover the aftermath of natural disasters. His latest assignment takes him to Ukraine to cover the aftermath of a major earthquake; when an aftershock causes an explosion in the region where he was working, Charlotte and her mother receive news that he has gone missing. The plot thickens further when the FBI comes knocking to reveal that her father was kidnapped by a rebel group demanding a ransom for his release. Charlotte’s feelings of helplessness and anxiety over the situation are compounded by her tenuous relationship with her Russian-immigrant mother, whose distance and reserve are the results of old traumas. Charlotte copes by weaving tales from Russian folklore throughout her story as a way of coming to terms with her own personal struggles. When her frustration with the FBI’s lack of progress reaches a breaking point, she relies on her friends to help her take matters in her own hands. Devlin’s prose is uneven in this outing, lyrical at the start but growing staccato along the way; it loses steam at the end as it drifts toward a neat and anticlimactic conclusion. Russian dialogue is sprinkled throughout, though those familiar with the language are likely to find it unconvincing.
An exploration of Russian folklore as metaphor adds an intriguing element to an otherwise lackluster story. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4814-8699-6
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
This brutal, emotionally charged novel will grip readers and leave them brokenhearted
A minute-by-minute account of mass murder at a high school by a former student.
Four students from a range of different backgrounds at Alabama's Opportunity High, all of whom have a history with Tyler, the gunman, take turns telling this harrowing story in the first person. They include his sister, Autumn, and her clandestine girlfriend, Sylv, who have only each other for solace as the home lives of both are in upheaval. Tomás, Sylv's brother, recounts his and his friend Fareed's desperate efforts to help from outside the school's auditorium, where their fellow students and teachers are locked in with Tyler as he picks them off one by one. Finally, Claire, Tyler's ex-girlfriend, realistically agonizes over what to do when she and a few others outside running track realize that the gunshots they hear are coming from inside the school. Grounded in the present, the story makes effective use of flashbacks that lay bare the pain and deception that have led up to the day's horror. The language can occasionally feel a bit melodramatic, with lines like "we're fighting for hope and a thousand tomorrows," but this is a minor side note to this compelling story of terror, betrayal, and heroism.
This brutal, emotionally charged novel will grip readers and leave them brokenhearted . (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4926-2246-8
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Oct. 5, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2015
A promising premise subverted by the execution.
A restless AcroYoga influencer pursues love and money on reality TV.
Twenty-three-year-old Orielle Lennox’s post-college life has stalled out. Unhappy in a lackluster relationship and fueled by her older sister’s criticisms that she’s passive and codependent, Orie tries to jump-start her future by answering a casting call for the reality TV show Survivor. Discovering her father’s gambling problem and being dumped by her boyfriend shortly before leaving for Fiji to film make Orie all the more eager to dive headlong into the competition as an escape from her problems. Upon arrival, Orie (who’s cued white) and the nine other contestants—a racially diverse group of young, fit older teens and 20-somethings—find out that they’re actually on a new reality spinoff called Attached at the Hip. Furthermore, each participant has been carefully selected as a possible love or friendship match for several other competitors. Orie quickly allies with Remy, an Italian American gym bro who also happens to be her unrequited high school crush. But as the days of sun and starvation wear on and new connections form, Orie starts to question Remy’s motives and wonders who, if anyone, she can trust. Unfortunately, Orie comes across as frustratingly impulsive and immature rather than quirky and lovably offbeat. And, although moments of situational hilarity keep the story light, readers may get bogged down in the inane dialogue and the abundance of pop-culture references.
A promising premise subverted by the execution. (Fiction. 15-18)Pub Date: May 21, 2024
ISBN: 9781250760098
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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