Money is bad. That polemic resides at the heart of Caletti’s latest and overwhelms almost everything else. Eighteen-year-old Indigo Skye is a devoted waitress with no further aspirations and a too-mature voice that sometimes contradicts her stated lack of worldly experience; discourses on topics such as shopping for fulfillment and “airport time” sadly sound like adult intrusions (although they make for delightful reading). When Indigo receives a 2.5-million dollar tip, she turns into a spoiled brat who spends wildly, accuses her long-standing boyfriend of wanting nothing but her money and turns her back on the motley crew of diner patrons who are her extended family. Ultimately, Indigo learns to be rich and responsible (after a fling with the darker side of wealth), ensuring that readers are left with a clear sense of the moral rocks beneath the novel’s ground. Despite myriad flaws, Caletti’s fans will doubtless embrace this, even if the story is swallowed by the message with a capital M. (Fiction. YA)
Pub Date: March 25, 2008
ISBN: 978-1-4169-1007-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2008
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Masterfully modernizing the gothic horror genre, McGinnis outdoes herself.
While one cousin grapples with murder, another seeks revenge in this Edgar Allen Poe–inspired sequel to The Initial Insult (2021).
Picking up where the first novel ended, this duology closer once again follows Tress Montor in mostly White, small-town Amontillado, Ohio. Still looking for answers about her parents’ mysterious disappearance 7 years ago, Tress is also haunted à la “The Tell-Tale Heart” by the murder of Felicity Turnado, whom she entombed alive in the previous entry. Alternating with her first-person narration are chapters from her often taunted cousin, Kermit “Ribbit” Usher. Reminiscent of the title character in Poe’s “Hop-Frog,” Ribbit plans for a deadly revenge against his tormentors as well as a heroic rescue of Felicity and a family-ordered killing. As before, the alternating point-of-view chapters, with taut storytelling, dark twists, and allusions to Poe, effectively play off one another. Reinforcing the converging storylines are interspersed cryptic free-verse poems by Rue, a caged orangutan who lives at the illegal exotic animal attraction owned by Tress’ grandfather. The overall effect this time ups the mystery, intensity, and horror (emphasis on the latter!), with a satisfying ending delivering answers about ongoing family questions and clashes. Readers must be familiar with the first book to fully appreciate this one.
Masterfully modernizing the gothic horror genre, McGinnis outdoes herself. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: March 15, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-298245-2
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Highlights with painful honesty the process of moving forward following trauma.
In this follow-up to 2016’s The Way I Used To Be, a high school senior comes to understand that surviving rape is only the first part; what comes next is hard, too.
Eden is learning how to live after coming forward and publicly naming her rapist following three years of self-loathing and destructive behavior. In counseling, she’s working to understand who she is now, while also maintaining relationships with friends who don’t know what happened and family members who are dealing with guilt and anger in their own ways. Others’ reactions often leave Eden feeling like her honesty was more burdensome than helpful. She awaits the trial and reconnects with Josh, the boy she loved even when she couldn’t love herself and the only person outside her family who knew the truth. While Eden and Josh want love to be enough, both come with emotional baggage that must be dealt with before they can truly give themselves to each other. This emotional story about learning to take back control explores the fraught journey back to self for survivors and those who love them most. It is well paced and well executed and effectively shows how the legal system can make victims feel pressured and lonely. Readers need to be familiar with the first volume to fully understand this one. Main characters are cued white.
Highlights with painful honesty the process of moving forward following trauma. (author’s note) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9781665947107
Page Count: 432
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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