by Christopher Parker ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 26, 2021
A suspenseful and seriously fun thriller.
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Parker offers an eerie supernatural mystery featuring a young woman struggling with grief, finding love, and encountering paranormal phenomena.
There’s something supernatural in the town of Seabrook, and 18-year-old Amy is soon to discover it. She’d desperate for sleep and solace after the death of her mother, but she accompanies her father on a visit to the oceanside town of Seabrook; he’s a detective for the state police who’s investigating a mysterious disappearance in the community. After a rash mistake with some medication nearly costs Amy her life, she finds her circumstances intertwined with those of handsome Ryan, who’s dealing with the loss of his own mother and baby sister. He’s also supporting his father in the aftermath of a stroke, undertaking the financial and emotional burden of running the family’s ranch. He and Amy form an immediate bond, finding love in the shadow of the town’s mysterious lighthouse. But the closer they become, the more intense the supernatural experiences that surround them, including lapses in time and seemingly impossible coincidences. Then Amy receives a startling message from her late mother, and soon, she finds herself unraveling a mystery about Ryan’s identity. This smart, suspenseful, and briskly paced work will keep readers guessing. Avid fans of supernatural mysteries may predict a few of the twists, but the cleverly crafted plot is sure to deliver some surprises nonetheless. Parker doesn’t solely focus on the mystery, however; he also offers plenty of heart, including messages about the enduring power of family and how love can conquer one’s fear of the unknown. There are plenty of spooky chills along the way, but Parker’s work is never gory or excessively violent, making it appropriate for teen audiences. The result is a haunting but hopeful work of supernatural fiction that comes to a satisfying conclusion.
A suspenseful and seriously fun thriller.Pub Date: Oct. 26, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-9951495-0-2
Page Count: 368
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Sept. 16, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by Tomi Oyemakinde ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 26, 2023
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter.
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
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by Lilliam Rivera ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 15, 2020
This fresh reworking of a Greek myth will resonate.
An otherworldly Latinx retelling of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth set in the South Bronx.
Pheus visits his father in the Bronx every summer. The Afro-Dominican teen is known for his mesmerizing bachata music, love of history, and smooth way with the ladies. Eury, a young Puerto Rican woman and Hurricane Maria survivor, is staying with her cousin for the summer because of a recent, unspecified traumatic event. Her family doesn’t know that she’s been plagued since childhood by the demonlike Ato. Pheus and Eury bond over music and quickly fall in love. Attacked at a dance club by Sileno, its salacious and satyrlike owner, Eury falls into a coma and is taken to el Inframundo by Ato. Pheus, despite his atheism, follows the advice of his father and a local bruja to journey to find his love in the Underworld. Rivera skillfully captures the sounds and feels of the Bronx—its unique, diverse culture and the creeping gentrification of its neighborhoods. Through an amalgamation of Greek, Roman, and Taíno mythology and religious beliefs, gaslighting, the colonization of Puerto Rico, Afro-Latinidad identity, and female empowerment are woven into the narrative. While the pacing lags in the middle, secondary characters aren’t fully developed, and the couple’s relationship borders on instalove, the rush of a summertime romance feels realistic. Rivera’s complex world is well realized, and the dialogue rings true. All protagonists are Latinx.
This fresh reworking of a Greek myth will resonate. (Fabulism. 14-adult)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5476-0373-2
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
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