Waters not only causes hearts to race, but brains to ponder the possibilities of ghosts.
“Everybody’s haunted by something.”
Generation Dead author Waters (2008) turns from zombies to ghosts in this supernatural thriller. Six years after the Event, a seemingly 9/11-type occurrence that killed an estimated 2 million people, ghosts (even those not associated with the Event) continue to inundate Jewell City. Teen Veronica Calder, born on leap day, sees many of these ghosts, including her father and fellow teen Brian, who committed suicide in her bathtub years earlier. Hoping to capture Veronica’s attention, classmate Kirk begins an independent study on the city’s ghosts. Also vying for her attention is serial killer and history teacher August Bittner, whose daughter died on leap day many years ago. As another leap day approaches, he secretly plans to kill Veronica in an effort to bring back his daughter’s spirit. Although occasionally slow, the fresh story reveals flashes of the author’s dark humor amid the terror as Kirk and Veronica’s initial romantic interest turns to trying to prove Bittner’s guilt in local unsolved murders, as well as trying to keep Veronica alive. Most of the novel is written in the third person, except for Brian’s perspective. His side story and own dilemmas, told in the first person, offer both interesting diversions from and connections to Veronica’s survival.
Waters not only causes hearts to race, but brains to ponder the possibilities of ghosts. (Supernatural thriller. 12 & up)Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4231-2198-5
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Aug. 21, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Perhaps a more genuinely enlightened protagonist would have made this debut more engaging
Audrey Rose Wadsworth, 17, would rather perform autopsies in her uncle’s dark laboratory than find a suitable husband, as is the socially acceptable rite of passage for a young, white British lady in the late 1800s.
The story immediately brings Audrey into a fractious pairing with her uncle’s young assistant, Thomas Cresswell. The two engage in predictable rounds of “I’m smarter than you are” banter, while Audrey’s older brother, Nathaniel, taunts her for being a girl out of her place. Horrific murders of prostitutes whose identities point to associations with the Wadsworth estate prompt Audrey to start her own investigation, with Thomas as her sidekick. Audrey’s narration is both ponderous and polemical, as she sees her pursuit of her goals and this investigation as part of a crusade for women. She declares that the slain aren’t merely prostitutes but “daughters and wives and mothers,” but she’s also made it a point to deny any alignment with the profiled victims: “I am not going as a prostitute. I am simply blending in.” Audrey also expresses a narrow view of her desired gender role, asserting that “I was determined to be both pretty and fierce,” as if to say that physical beauty and liking “girly” things are integral to feminism. The graphic descriptions of mutilated women don’t do much to speed the pace.
Perhaps a more genuinely enlightened protagonist would have made this debut more engaging . (Historical thriller. 15-18)Pub Date: Sept. 20, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-316-27349-7
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Jimmy Patterson/Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The magical world is fresh, but the storyline is less satisfying.
In a world where everyone has a magical ability based on the moon’s phase on their day of birth, magical education is reserved for those with exceptional talent.
Students at Aldryn College for Lunar Magics pursue the advanced study of magic. Emory Ainsleif is a Healer, an ability associated with House New Moon. Last spring, she followed her best friend, Romie Brysden, and seven others into the Dovermere Caves. In the deepest cave, known as the Belly of the Beast, Emory unwittingly took part in a ritual that left a peculiar mark on her wrist and left the other students dead. Back at Aldryn for the new school year, Emory begins to develop magical abilities that go beyond healing—and that she’s unable to control. She turns to Baz, Romie’s brother, for help—Baz was born during an eclipse, giving him unpredictable magic. Reluctant to train Emory but eager to find out what happened to his sister, Baz finally agrees, and together they begin to unravel what happened last spring. This dark fantasy, told in Emory’s and Baz’s alternating third-person perspectives, has a spooky atmosphere and rich worldbuilding. It slowly unfolds to reveal what really happened to Romie, but predictable plot twists and a gratuitous deus ex machina may frustrate readers. The central characters are described as having pale skin.
The magical world is fresh, but the storyline is less satisfying. (content warnings, Sacred Lunar Houses & their tidal alignments) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2023
ISBN: 9781665939270
Page Count: 544
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2023
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