Nostalgia-tinged but thoroughly contemporary, this social satire sparkles with wicked humor.
After the accident that left two dead and Peacock badly injured, the exodus from Maine’s Blackbrook Academy accelerates, but the Murder Crew isn’t going anywhere.
Peacock faces a long recovery; Orchid’s wounds are just as deep but hidden. Mustard’s roommate, Tanner, inexplicably distressed, has dropped sports and broken up with his girlfriend. Through months of chaos, Finn, who’s kept his invention secret from Blackbrook, gets a nasty surprise when Dr. Brown turns up dead and her successor, Perry Winkle, demands Finn hand over his chemical formula. Finn’s frustrated with Mustard, their romance having stalled due to the latter’s internalized homophobia. Scarlett knows her SAT scores likely put Princeton out of reach, but buoyed by unparalleled executive functioning and relentless ambition, she aims to revive her prospects by turning Orchid’s stash of Vaughn Green’s songs (and their tragically truncated romance) into a social media sensation. All are shocked when a previously unknown individual arrives to claim the income generated from Vaughn’s music and Scarlett’s hard work. Ever the realist, Scarlett throws herself into prom planning. Mysteries satisfactorily revealed include how Mustard earned his nickname and why it matters and the full story of the Greens’ entanglement with Curry Chem and Blackbrook. This affectionate homage to CLUE ends with a nod to the board-game–inspired 1985 film. Major characters—flawed, scheming, but (mostly) endearing—are presumed White, Indian American Scarlett and Mustard, named in previous titles as Latinx, excepted.
Nostalgia-tinged but thoroughly contemporary, this social satire sparkles with wicked humor. (Mystery. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3978-1
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
Perhaps a more genuinely enlightened protagonist would have made this debut more engaging
Audrey Rose Wadsworth, 17, would rather perform autopsies in her uncle’s dark laboratory than find a suitable husband, as is the socially acceptable rite of passage for a young, white British lady in the late 1800s.
The story immediately brings Audrey into a fractious pairing with her uncle’s young assistant, Thomas Cresswell. The two engage in predictable rounds of “I’m smarter than you are” banter, while Audrey’s older brother, Nathaniel, taunts her for being a girl out of her place. Horrific murders of prostitutes whose identities point to associations with the Wadsworth estate prompt Audrey to start her own investigation, with Thomas as her sidekick. Audrey’s narration is both ponderous and polemical, as she sees her pursuit of her goals and this investigation as part of a crusade for women. She declares that the slain aren’t merely prostitutes but “daughters and wives and mothers,” but she’s also made it a point to deny any alignment with the profiled victims: “I am not going as a prostitute. I am simply blending in.” Audrey also expresses a narrow view of her desired gender role, asserting that “I was determined to be both pretty and fierce,” as if to say that physical beauty and liking “girly” things are integral to feminism. The graphic descriptions of mutilated women don’t do much to speed the pace.
Perhaps a more genuinely enlightened protagonist would have made this debut more engaging . (Historical thriller. 15-18)Pub Date: Sept. 20, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-316-27349-7
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Jimmy Patterson/Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2024 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.
