Great title, not-so-great book.
The subject of a teenage filmmaker's horror flick transitions from fiction to fact.
Dylan's itching to make his own zombie movie, and he's got the perfect spin on the ubiquitous subgenre: zombie scarecrows. With his best friend, Cory, and girlfriend, Monica, at his side, he's confident he'll make an excellent movie on Halloween—the perfect night to shoot a film filled with terror. But then Dylan sees a real, live—err, undead—zombie scarecrow attack one of his neighbors. As the attacks and tension increase, it’s up to Dylan and his friends to figure out who's behind it all. There's a solid-enough premise here but very little else. The characters are all flat figures, spouting awkward dialogue and sounding improbably similar to one another. The novel is also incredibly short, clocking in at just 123 pages, but even there it feels like a short story stretched far beyond its limits. But these issues pale in comparison to the book's biggest sin: It’s not scary. There's no suspense or intrigue or danger on hand, not even any gore or guts or blood.
Great title, not-so-great book. (Horror. 12-16)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4598-0996-3
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Emotionally resonant and not without humor, this impressive debut about survival and connection, resourcefulness and...
Two girls on the racial margins of mid-19th-century America team up and head west.
As the book opens, Samantha, a 15-year-old Chinese-American violinist, yearns to move back to New York City in 1849, though her kind and optimistic father, owner of a dry goods store in the bustling outpost of Saint Joe, Missouri, has great plans for them in California. When the store burns down and her father dies, she is forced to defend herself from their predatory landlord. Suddenly on the run from the law, Samantha and Annamae, a 16-year-old African-American slave who covets freedom, disguise themselves as boys and head west on the Oregon Trail. Well-crafted and suspenseful, with more flow than ebb to the tension that stretches like taut wires across plotlines, Lee’s tale ingeniously incorporates Chinese philosophy and healing, music, art and religion, as well as issues of race and discrimination (including abolitionist views and examples of cruel slave treatment), into what is at its center a compelling love story. “Sammy” and “Andy” meet up with Cay, West and Peety, three young, good-hearted cowboys with secrets of their own, who help them on their arduous, dangerous journey.
Emotionally resonant and not without humor, this impressive debut about survival and connection, resourcefulness and perseverance will keep readers on the very edges of their seats. (Historical fiction. 12-16)Pub Date: March 17, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-399-16803-1
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A festive story that shows that in the end it’s friends, not followers, who count.
Two social media influencers on either side of the Atlantic decide to switch places to boost followers—and learn some life lessons in the process.
Holly, a 16-year-old Brit, adores Christmas. She sends herself a card in advance every year and makes a 39-point Christmas-decorating list. But all the tinsel in the world won’t improve her mood after a bad boyfriend breakup. Meanwhile, in Alpine Peaks, New Jersey, American Elle is working to increase the following of her new social media account, @OneElleOfATime, and helping her parents with their Christmas tree rental and decoration business while struggling with the stress of yet another move. A challenge from another influencer to take part in a race to be the first to get 15,000 new followers propels the girls to engage in a life swap over Christmas. Holly’s and Elle’s alternating first-person narratives are laugh-out-loud funny. The roller-coaster drama of their lives as they pursue this outrageous adventure while adapting to each other’s cultures, dealing with the stress of finding material to attract followers to their accounts, and meeting cute boys will keep the pages turning. The constant British versus American wordplay threading the narrative will appeal to many and will introduce non-British readers to holiday traditions such as mince pies, Christmas jumpers (sweaters), and pantomime. All main characters present White.
A festive story that shows that in the end it’s friends, not followers, who count. (Romance. 12-16)Pub Date: Nov. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-72824-897-4
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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