Like the riot-grrrl movement itself, unsubtle but full of heart.
A teenage outcast finds herself in the riot-grrrl scene.
White, fat high school sophomore Tabitha is bullied for her size and a sexual identity she has yet to claim, but she finds solace in punk music and her “absolute disdain for all that is mainstream.” Attending a Bikini Kill show, she’s handed a zine with information about a local riot-grrrl meeting, and after getting up the nerve to attend, she finds a group of young women working to smash the patriarchy through creativity, activism, and mutual support. She falls in with the group and comes out as bisexual, embarking on a relationship with white longtime member Kate. As their relationship grows rocky, Tabitha begins to develop a close friendship and intense chemistry with a new member of the group, Jackie, who is black and butch. Pack’s characters call out problematic behaviors and ideologies, and, while occasionally preachy and didactic, her book earnestly tackles biphobia, racism, and microaggressions, gender presentation, body image, and intersectionality. An author’s note written after the 2017 Women’s March on Washington situates the narrative in the early 1990s and explains the contemporary relevance of the riot-grrrl movement. Snippets reproduced from the characters’ zines are scattered between chapters, providing additional insights into their inner selves and an authentic replica of a cultural moment.
Like the riot-grrrl movement itself, unsubtle but full of heart. (Historical fiction. 14-17)Pub Date: June 8, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-945053-21-4
Page Count: 250
Publisher: Duet
Review Posted Online: April 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2017
A chilling yet poignant story about the suffering in front of us that we can’t bear to see.
Eighteen-year-old Noah understands pain too well: He can see it as others cannot—as the Marr, an all-encompassing darkness that is kidnapping young women and slowly causing Evan, his best friend, to disappear in front of everyone.
The mysteries in this novel, set in early 1980s Portland, Oregon, roll in like a rising tide. The horrors of Noah’s past, filled with physical abuse and grisly trauma, are slowly revealed. Ziggy, an uber-confident David Bowie doppelgänger, suddenly appears in Noah’s life, but with his uncannily timed arrivals and departures, readers will question the nature of his existence. Evan’s physical health progressively deteriorates, but is it the Marr or something even more sinister attacking him? Ziggy encourages Noah to reunite his band, the Gallivanters. He must get them into the grand reopening gig at the PfefferBrau Haus, where the only vanished girl to have been found was discovered, dead and brewed into a vat of porter. Playing this show, all the Gallivanters together and Ziggy singing lead, is the key to vanquishing the Marr, saving the girls and rescuing Evan. Beaufrand’s masterful pace compels readers toward the satisfying though heartbreaking conclusion, prodding them to question throughout whether Noah’s story takes place in reality or in a dissociative hellscape.
A chilling yet poignant story about the suffering in front of us that we can’t bear to see. (Fiction. 14-17)Pub Date: May 12, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4197-1495-5
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
A solid follow-up to Exile that will leave readers clamoring for the final installment. (Fiction. 14-17)
Summer and the band she manages, Dangerheart, are still searching for the lost songs of Eli White in this sequel to Exile (2014).
The world now knows that Dangerheart’s lead singer Caleb (also Summer’s boyfriend) is the son of the late, talented but troubled rocker Eli White. Prior to his death, Eli hid three songs for Caleb to find one day, and so far the group has found one. Though the band is in-sync musically, escalating personal tensions threaten to rip them apart, as individual members struggle with family problems, alcohol abuse, relationship drama and mounting resentment toward one another. The pressure increases when record-deal options begin to appear. Summer feels pulled apart as well, wanting to continue managing the band after high school but also beginning to think that pursuing college as her parents want might not be such a bad idea. When new information arises about the lost songs, the bandmates find themselves in a race to uncover the others before the record executives at Candy Shell steal them. This mission takes Dangerheart on a cross-country tour and an adventure that might just turn out to be a wild ghost chase. Emerson’s talents for creating cool characters, writing effortless dialogue and maintaining a quick pace continue to shine.
A solid follow-up to Exile that will leave readers clamoring for the final installment. (Fiction. 14-17)Pub Date: April 28, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-213398-4
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2015
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