Within the crumbling city of Detroit, two grief-stricken teens discover a tenuous thread that ties their personal tragedies together and concoct a sinister plan for vengeance.
Johnny is a handsome, olive-skinned, Mexican jock who excels at sports but has difficulties academically. Becca is a fair, red-haired honor student whose brilliance is overshadowed by her lack of social skills. The two, with seemingly nothing in common, meet coincidentally at a crash site where Becca's twin sister, Brit, and Johnny’s mother both died in a head-on collision. Becca, believing that the accident was anything but, befriends Johnny and convinces him to help her exact a plan for revenge. Their friendship deepens into romance, as does her control over him. When their plan goes horribly wrong—though wrong apparently only to Johnny—he begins to question the truth about Becca, their relationship, and their jointly diabolical plot for retribution. The story is told in short, keep-the-pages-flying, alternating chapters by Johnny and Becca, allowing readers to get into their heads as the intensity of their relationship ratchets to a darkly dangerous climax. Rife with angst and twists, Becca and Johnny's machinations seem to come to a somewhat far-reaching end; however, with the intense pacing and plotting, this should be easily forgiven.
An intricate psychological page-turner that explores the darker side of vengeance and reads like Gone Girl through a teen lens. (Thriller. 13 & up)Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7387-4599-2
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Flux
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2015
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A romance with solid queer representation set against the backdrop of an Alabama Christian school.
Chloe Green is the only one who sees through Shara Wheeler’s goody-two-shoes act, and now that Shara’s pulled a disappearing act right before being crowned prom queen, she makes it her business to find her. This means teaming up with unlikely allies like Smith Parker, Shara’s jock boyfriend, and Rory Heron, the brooding boy next door, both in love with Shara, just as Chloe claims she is not. What brings the trio together is a series of notes Shara has left them, along with the awkward fact that she kissed all three of them before vanishing. McQuiston’s YA debut starts off as a fun page-turner with a rich cast of queer characters but ultimately disappoints with its predictable plot twists and protagonists whose journeys feel lackluster. In a story that uplifts the importance of friendship and found family, the main character’s tunnel vision and indifference toward her friends’ problems make for an ending that doesn’t feel earned. Rather than coming across as a complicated but earnest love interest, Shara feels superficial and narcissistic, raising the question of why so many people drop everything to pursue her. Shara and Chloe are White; Rory has a White mom and Black dad, and Smith is described as having dark brown skin. Bisexual Chloe has two moms.
An engaging, fast-paced story let down by character development. (author’s note) (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: May 3, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-24445-1
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 9, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022
Categories: TEENS & YOUNG ADULT ROMANCE | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT SOCIAL THEMES
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A blended family seeks a fresh start in a new home.
Tom’s mother believes that the family may have finally found happiness. After years of dating losers, she’s finally settled down with a nice guy—and that nice guy, Jay, happens to have a daughter, Nia, who is just a little older than Tom. The new family has moved into a nice new house, but Tom can’t shake the feeling that something’s wrong. They discover a strange message written on the wall when they are stripping the old wallpaper, and there’s clear evidence that the previous owners had installed locks on the exteriors of the bedroom doors. Those previous owners happen to live a little farther down the street, and Tom quickly becomes obsessed with their teenage daughter, Amy, and the secrets she’s hiding. This obsession unfortunately becomes a repetitive slog involving many pages of Tom’s brooding and sulking over the same bits of information while everyone tells him to move on. Readers will be on everyone’s side. But then, a blessed breath of fresh air: The perspective shifts to Amy, and readers learn in spectacularly propulsive fashion exactly what she’s hiding. Regret and intrigue blend perfectly as Amy divulges her secrets. Alas, we return to navel-gazing Tom for the book’s final pages, and everything ends with a shrug. Main characters default to White.
A crackerjack thriller done in by its own dopey protagonist. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: March 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-72823-189-1
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Dec. 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2022
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