A series opener to sink your teeth into. (Horror. 12-18)
Shan’s baaa-aaaack.
For B Smith, school is a bore and home is a battlefield, with a racist and abusive father around whom to navigate. The years of hate have taken their toll, with B provoking fights against nonwhite students to earn parental approval and hiding friendships that would incur parental wrath. When zombies begin massacring B's fellow students, it turns into a survival challenge, and B must cooperate with a diverse set of survivors to flee the barricaded school. Shan brings back his tried-and-true shock and gore narratives, with gruesome brain scooping and death-defying action sequences. Troubled by divided loyalty between father and friends, B's character is well-drawn though occasionally naïve; B often elects not to make any choice in difficult situations, and Shan doesn't fully explore the consequences of those moments of inaction. The English slang may cause momentary trouble, but tension over immigration crosses the pond easily enough. Shan packs in the bites, and he rips out enough entrails for even the most jaded zombie fan; the cliffhanger ending, now expected by his fans, closes on just the right note to leave the audience gnawing for more.
A series opener to sink your teeth into. (Horror. 12-18)Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-316-21440-7
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 21, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2012
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
Disappointingly uneven.
A group of teenagers sets out to find answers surrounding their sleepy town’s haunted past.
When high school golden couple Brad and Shelley are found dead at the abandoned Carrington Manor, the residents of the quiet California town of Sanera are panicked. Quarterback Brad was at the old house hoping to film the Carrington Ghoul for his show, Truly Haunted. Seniors Cam, Jonesy, and Amber, along with new girl Buffy, decide to solve the murders themselves, leading them to a series of terrifying discoveries. After an explosive beginning, the plot tapers off into an overly repetitive narrative that contains more telling than showing. Debut author Wood creates characters with thoughtfully imagined backgrounds, such as Jonesy’s mom’s alcoholism, that unfortunately aren’t integrated into the plot or explored beyond giving the teens reasons to be away from home. Similarly, many characters have traumatic pasts that will intrigue readers, but those backstories remain underdeveloped. Still, the action scenes and detailed descriptions of Carrington Manor are engaging. The story contains positive queer representation: Amber is bisexual, and Cam and Jonesy begin to acknowledge their feelings for one another in a growing relationship containing touching moments. The accessible writing alternates among several points of view. Most characters present white, and a mention of Amber’s braids may be intended to cue that she’s Black.
Disappointingly uneven. (Horror. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2025
ISBN: 9798225006143
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
