Well-written humor and fizzy romance wrapped in an uneasy plot.
A New Yorker grapples with mixed loyalties.
Readers met Virginia Shreves in The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things (2003). One semester on, the 16-year-old, who attends an expensive private school, has dyed her hair purple and green and wears brightly-colored bras. She’s trying to reconcile her list of rules entitled “How To Make Sure Skinny Girls Aren’t the Only Ones Who Have Boyfriends”—a personal campaign—with no longer having feelings for her boyfriend, Froggy. Then Annie Mills, a young woman Virginia’s 20-year-old brother raped last fall, unexpectedly presses charges. Byron, the brother she once idolized, now faces prison. Coincidentally, Sebastian, the dreamy blond boy Virginia meets at a bagel shop, turns out to be Annie’s 17-year-old brother. Despite Annie’s adamant discomfort with Virginia and Sebastian’s connection, their relationship ultimately brings solace to Annie’s mother. Annie’s feelings on the matter are sacrificed, making the otherwise-delicious romance harder to root for. Virginia’s challenges are her family—cold, controlling, and image-obsessed—and her own body image, which she triumphantly levels up, though eschewing the term “fat” in favor of “curvaceous chick.” Her secondary romance is Manhattan, detailed and buzzing, though whiter than is realistic; Chinatown and its inhabitants are exoticized and presented as foreign. The Mills and Shreves families are white.
Well-written humor and fizzy romance wrapped in an uneasy plot. (Fiction. 14-16)Pub Date: May 29, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-68119-599-5
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: March 4, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2018
Smoothly written and packed with (perhaps too many) challenging issues, Hoyle’s debut may feel a bit glib and predictable to...
A teenager with epilepsy who has recently lost her father to cancer overcomes the depression induced by grief and illness as she acclimates to attending public school for the first time in several years and finds a boyfriend.
Home-schooled and reluctant to engage with strangers, Emilie spends her spare time reading, cuddling with her therapy dog, Hitch, and playing board games with Cindy, her 8-year-old neighbor. Forced to begin classes at the local high school, Emilie is determined to remain aloof. A smart, creative girl named Ayla and a hot (and very nice) boy named Chatham befriend her, making it hard to stay distant and self-contained. Conflicts with her mother, who is just beginning to date, and concern about the potential embarrassment of having a seizure at school further complicate Emilie’s life. Miserable and self-absorbed, Emilie is exceedingly articulate. Indeed, her first-person narration sometimes sounds older than her years, particularly when describing her crush. Extended metaphors abound, most involving water. That’s logical given the Outer Banks setting and Emilie’s fears, but they slow the flow of the plot and contribute to the not entirely believable tone. Emilie seems to be white, and so does her world, aside from the occasional student of color.
Smoothly written and packed with (perhaps too many) challenging issues, Hoyle’s debut may feel a bit glib and predictable to some readers; others will swoon over the dreamy Chatham and root for Emilie to come out of her shell. (Romance. 14-16)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-310-75851-8
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Blink
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2017
Bloody? Yes. Scary? No.
Someone is murdering high school students. Most freeze in fear, but a brave few try to stop the killings.
Senior Makani Young has been living in corn-obsessed Nebraska for just a little over a year. She has developed a crush and made some friends, but a dark secret keeps her from truly opening up to those around her. As the only half–African-American and half–Native Hawaiian student in her school, she already stands out, but as the killing spree continues, the press descends, and rumors fly, Makani is increasingly nervous that her past will be exposed. However, the charming and incredibly shy Ollie, a white boy with hot-pink hair, a lip ring, and wanderlust, provides an excellent distraction from the horror and fear. Graphic violence and bloody mayhem saturate this high-speed slasher story. And while Makani’s secret and the killer’s hidden identity might keep the pages turning, this is less a psychological thriller and more a study in gore. The intimacy and precision of the killer’s machinations hint at some grand psychological reveal, but lacking even basic jump-scares, this tale is high in yuck and low in fright. The tendency of the characters toward preachy inner monologues feels false.
Bloody? Yes. Scary? No. (Horror. 14-16)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-525-42601-1
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
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