A page-turner that will keep readers riveted, this is a treat for mystery fans and will keep readers guessing right up until...
Like a PG-13 version of Gone Girl (2012), Balog’s (Dead River, 2013, etc.) latest tells the tense and tragic story of three teens mixed up in a world of murder, obsession, and mental illness.
Sixteen-year-old Victoria Zell, a loner suffering from severe anxiety, spends her days feeling trapped at St. Ann’s, a Catholic school in Bangor, Maine. Vic wants only to spend time with Andrew, her longtime boyfriend and best friend. Andrew understands her, and like Vic, Andrew suffers from his own debilitating condition: agoraphobia. The two are inseparable—until Zachary “Z” Zimmerman arrives at St. Ann’s. Z’s arrival spells trouble for Vic as she teeters between her loyalty to the safe and loving Andrew and her desire, bordering on obsession, for Z, who is full of mystery and danger. Vic sometimes reads as a naïve Catholic schoolgirl, a familiar stereotype, but her account, addressed to Andrew with each chapter preceded by police interviews, news updates, and coroner’s reports, is nevertheless a compelling one. The portrayal of mental illness seems authentic, but readers should recognize that Vic is entangled in a web of unhealthy relationships, especially with Z, who treats her like a puppy. Vic is white, with “stick-straight beige hair,” the charismatic Z has tan skin, golden hair, and blue eyes, and Andrew’s race is unclear.
A page-turner that will keep readers riveted, this is a treat for mystery fans and will keep readers guessing right up until the end. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4926-3579-6
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Aug. 29, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2016
A contemporary hero’s journey, brilliantly told.
The 17-year-old son of a troubled rock star is determined to find his own way in life and love.
On the verge of adulthood, Blade Morrison wants to leave his father’s bad-boy reputation for drug-and-alcohol–induced antics and his sister’s edgy lifestyle behind. The death of his mother 10 years ago left them all without an anchor. Named for the black superhero, Blade shares his family’s connection to music but resents the paparazzi that prevent him from having an open relationship with the girl that he loves. However, there is one secret even Blade is unaware of, and when his sister reveals the truth of his heritage during a bitter fight, Blade is stunned. When he finally gains some measure of equilibrium, he decides to investigate, embarking on a search that will lead him to a small, remote village in Ghana. Along the way, he meets people with a sense of purpose, especially Joy, a young Ghanaian who helps him despite her suspicions of Americans. This rich novel in verse is full of the music that forms its core. In addition to Alexander and co-author Hess’ skilled use of language, references to classic rock songs abound. Secondary characters add texture to the story: does his girlfriend have real feelings for Blade? Is there more to his father than his inability to stay clean and sober? At the center is Blade, fully realized and achingly real in his pain and confusion.
A contemporary hero’s journey, brilliantly told. (Verse fiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-310-76183-9
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Blink
Review Posted Online: April 30, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2017
PERSPECTIVES
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
BOOK REVIEW
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