The blend of predictable prep school elements with unpredictable suspense makes this a fizzy read for fans of the genre.
For some girls, it’s a killer getting into Bates Academy. For others, attending the elite prep school means getting killed.
When Kay Donovan and her popular senior classmates uphold the tradition of skinny dipping in the lake after the Halloween dance, they’re surprised to find the dead body of Jessica Lane, a fellow student. But it’s not the first time Kay has seen a dead body—and someone knows it. As she, her friends, and other acquaintances begin answering questions for the police, the teen also receives an email from Jessica’s account that takes her to a revenge website. There, Kay receives instructions to take down all her friends—this one for doping, that one for sleeping with a professor—or her own secrets will be revealed. The debut novel has all the tropes one would expect from a prep school mystery: plenty of backstabbing, predominantly white young socialites (except for Brie with “smooth brown skin”), and frequent parties with alcohol and sex. Yet this intertwined mystery that has readers figuring out Jessica’s murderer and Kay’s secrets (and their possible connections) is more than these clichés. The characters and their relationships are nuanced, especially bisexual Kay, who has intimate encounters with males and females.
The blend of predictable prep school elements with unpredictable suspense makes this a fizzy read for fans of the genre. (Mystery. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5247-4170-9
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Oct. 29, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
A powerful story of family, belonging, and identity interlaced with thriller elements.
A wary teen wonders if she should run when people come looking for her.
Lucy Smith was raised by her white father, who said little about her mother. Following his death and her stepmother’s abandonment, Lucy entered the foster care system at 14. Her stepmother revealed that Lucy’s birth mom was Native American, but her social worker urged her to keep that quiet. Battered by her time in the foster care system, it’s no wonder that 18-year-old Lucy is cautious when she’s approached by a man who says he’s an attorney who helps Native American foster kids connect with their families and communities. He introduces her to a friend who reveals to Lucy that she knows her Ojibwe maternal relatives—but a wary Lucy refuses her offer to learn more. Someone is stalking her, after all, and the FBI is investigating the bomb that went off in the diner where she worked—an event she’s sure targeted her. This stand-alone from bestseller Boulley, who’s an enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, includes characters her fans will recognize from previous works. The action scenes are mediated by ruminations on the failings of the foster care system and strong portrayals of Lucy’s relationship with her father and her complicated identity. Ardent book lover Lucy is a sympathetic narrator whose strong sense of justice is coupled with a deep acceptance of others.
A powerful story of family, belonging, and identity interlaced with thriller elements. (content warning, author’s note) (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2025
ISBN: 9781250328533
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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