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LOST IN THOUGHT

Name: LOST IN THOUGHT
Author: Cara Bertrand
ISBN: 978-1-935462-93-4

From the Sententia series , Vol. 1

by Cara Bertrand ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 18, 2014

For genre fans only.

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This debut sends a paranormally afflicted teen to a posh school with a secret in this familiar-feeling series opener.

Lainey has lived most of her life traveling with her artist aunt and learning from tutors. When she begins to experience blackouts, her guardian suddenly sends her to a posh prep school, where she’s eagerly accepted as a Legacy student. Lainey loves antiques, but sometimes when she handles them, she sees the death of a person who touched the object. The Northbrook Academy authorities are well-aware of some of their students’ paranormal abilities—all their Legacy students have some kind of talent. Lainey learns that she is one of the Sententia and can use Thought to affect the physical world. As she deals with her quickly developing powers, Lainey falls for Carter, the handsome boy who works in his family’s bookstore and is involved with the secret society of Sententia all over the world. Alas, several other female students also covet Carter’s attentions, and when he seems to fall for Lainey, jealousies arise. Bertrand focuses mostly on the romance between Carter and Lainey, though the plot broadens a bit toward the end. She takes some potshots at science, favoring the metaphysical instead. Characterizations skew toward genre norms, and the book ends with a whopper of a premonition to propel readers into the sequel.

For genre fans only. (Paranormal romance. 12-18)

Pub Date: April 18, 2014

ISBN: 978-1-935462-93-4

Page Count: 290

Publisher: Luminis

Review Posted Online: Feb. 11, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2014

Categories:

TEENS & YOUNG ADULT PARANORMAL & SUPERNATURAL

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THE CHANGING MAN

by Tomi Oyemakinde ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 26, 2023

A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter.

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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

Categories:

TEENS & YOUNG ADULT MYSTERY & THRILLER | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT PARANORMAL & SUPERNATURAL

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HOUR OF THE PUMPKIN QUEEN

TIM BURTON'S THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS

From the Pumpkin Queen series , Vol. 2

by Megan Shepherd ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 8, 2025

Reminiscent of fairy tales and full of enchantment.

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In this sequel to the 2022 series opener, Long Live the Pumpkin Queen by Shea Ernshaw, Sally must mend time itself.

It’s been a year since Sally married Jack Skellington and discovered her Dream Town origins, and she’s spread thin between performing her duties as Pumpkin Queen and managing relations among all the holiday realms. Arguments and misunderstandings have arisen between visitors and residents of each realm, so Sally proposes hosting cultural exhibitions to help smooth over their interactions, starting with one in Halloween Town. To help with the extra work, Sally takes on an apprentice—fellow rag doll Luna, a teen with dreams of going on adventures instead of following in the family business of writing bedtime stories. Chaos ensues during the festivities when a swapped potion ingredient opens a portal that sucks Sally and Luna into Time Town. Even worse, Halloween Town’s magical clock has been destroyed by a shadowy enemy, setting the realm’s timeline to the distant past. To get back to the Halloween Town of her present, Sally embarks on an adventure with Luna and their new friend, a dragon called Scorch. Sally, Luna, and Scorch make a fantastic trio, with Sally’s maturity and bravery contrasting with Luna’s wide-eyed youthfulness and Scorch’s desire to become a hero. Despite a slow start and stereotypical elements in some of the towns, the engaging lore and tense, thrilling race to fix time will engage readers.

Reminiscent of fairy tales and full of enchantment. (Fantasy. 12-16)