An inventive tale that runs the gamut from delightfully comedic to disturbingly dark.
A satirical novel focuses on a teenager in trouble.
Eddie Crowe is a 16-year-old student at Clintock High School. Although Eddie has a penchant for pranks, he is not a bad kid. But the atmosphere at Clintock can be tense. Clyde Mason, the school “whipping boy” who “was socially inept, had objectionable body odor, and was greasy like a sea otter,” decides he has had enough. One day, he brings a gun to school. Luckily, it is only loaded with rubber bullets. While no one is seriously harmed in the incident, it has administrators and parents riled up. Enter Dr. Damon Stundel, a psychiatry professor and author of a bestseller entitled Trigger Finger, USA: The Psychosis of Violence in America. Stundel offers a solution that has an SF edge to it: Students at Clintock are to take a test that will determine if they are likely to commit violence in the future. Eddie’s results reveal that he “has the potential to become a homicidal sociopath with suicidal tendencies.” Eddie and others with such scores must atone for their results by engaging in “assimilation therapy.” Flores’ imaginative story follows Eddie as he attempts to adhere to expectations while he develops an interest in a fellow misfit named Angela Gallardo. The intriguing tale offers some amusing scenes as Eddie is forced into uncomfortable situations, such as trying to join the school theater group. The thespians are not keen on a potential sociopath in their midst. The school’s top actor mocks the group for being afraid to be in a play with Eddie: “Boo-hoo, I don’t want to get killed.” It is a thoroughly funny situation even if other parts of the story go too far. For instance, Stundel, a great comedic character, is motivated in his work by a not-so-humorous episode involving his brother’s murder-suicide. Aside from a silly detail about a hair dryer, the scene does not deliver a lot to laugh at.
An inventive tale that runs the gamut from delightfully comedic to disturbingly dark.Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2025
ISBN: 9780988350229
Page Count: 294
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: June 11, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A high-concept premise that falls short in its execution.
A teenage girl finds herself alone after everyone else in her town mysteriously disappears, leaving her scrambling to figure out how to find them all.
One late summer day, everybody in July Fielding’s town disappears. She is left to piece together what happened, following a series of cryptic signs she finds around town urging her to “GET THEM BACK.” The narrative moves back and forth between July’s present and the events of the summer before, when her relationship with her best friend, cross-country team co-captain Sydney, starts to fracture due to a combination of jealousy over July’s new relationship with a cute boy called Sam and sweet up-and-coming freshman Ella’s threatening to overtake Syd’s status as star of the track team. The team members participate in a ritual in which they jump off a cliff into the rocky waters below at the end of their Friday practice runs. Though Ella is reluctant, Syd pressures her to jump. Short, frenetically paced sections move the story along quickly, and there is much foreshadowing pointing to something terrible that occurred at the end of that summer, which may be the key to July’s current predicament, but there is much misdirection too. Ultimately this is a story without enough setup to make the turn the book takes in the end feel fully developed or earned. All characters read white.
A high-concept premise that falls short in its execution. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 19, 2023
ISBN: 9780593327173
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2023
A great read offering entertainment, encouragement, and plenty to reflect upon.
A gay teen contends with time travel—and homophobia through the decades.
All Cuban American Luis wants is to be prom king with his boyfriend, but tiny upstate New York boarding school Antic Springs Academy, with its strict, Christian code of conduct, won’t even let them hold hands in public. After a disastrous prom committee meeting at which his attempt to make the event welcoming of queer couples is rejected by the principal, Luis gets quite literally knocked into the past—specifically, ASA in the year 1985. There he meets Chaz, a Black student who attended the school at the same time as Luis’ parents and who died under mysterious circumstances after being bullied for his sexuality. Luis now faces a choice between changing the past to help Chaz and preserving his own future existence. Fortunately, he has Ms. Silverthorn, a Black English teacher and beloved mentor, who offers him support in both timelines. The narrative explores the impacts of homophobia and being closeted, remaining optimistic without shying away from the more brutal aspects. Luis is a multifaceted character with an engaging voice whose flaws are confronted and examined throughout. The solid pacing and pleasant, fluid prose make this a page-turner. Luis’ boyfriend is cued as Chinese American, and his best friend is nonbinary; there is some diversity in ethnicity and sexuality in background characters, although the school is predominantly White.
A great read offering entertainment, encouragement, and plenty to reflect upon. (author's note) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Jan. 4, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5476-0710-5
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
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