An eerie thriller emphasizing the power of inner strength.
When sinister influences threaten to take over, two teens stand in the way of evil destruction.
Vera Martinez is a regular, introverted high school junior. She has a part-time job, struggles to fit in, and dreams of escaping her small town after graduation. Not-so-typical, however, is the fact that her parents fight demons on behalf of the Catholic Church and keep a catalog of possessed relics in their off-limits basement. Vera’s family has a reputation for being creepy, and being the daughter of demon hunters hasn’t done much for her social standing. When popular athlete Maxwell Oliver appeals for her help in ridding his mom of a strange new affliction, Vera isn’t sure she shares her parents’ supernatural gifts and doubts that she can be of much help. The pair begin to notice that their small town has had much more than its fair share of tragedy in the years since a gas explosion killed 18 community members. Is this horrible accident connected to the subsequent rash of suicides and casualties? Vera and Max must confront the evil forces closing in on their community while navigating their own feelings of grief and self-doubt. Themes of religious faith, personal identity, and perseverance are woven throughout. The strong writing, ghoulish details, and brisk plot give this work reader appeal. Vera is Irish and Puerto Rican, and Max has Jamaican, Dominican, and European ancestry.
An eerie thriller emphasizing the power of inner strength. (author’s note, sources) (Paranormal. 12-18)Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-42751-4
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Underlined
Review Posted Online: June 23, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021
Exhilarating, nonstop fun.
A murder on The Escape Game, a popular reality TV show, puts the next round of contestants at risk—can they all get out alive?
The previous season of the show, in which groups of teens race to get through escape rooms, ended in disaster when Sierra Angelos and her team discovered another player lying dead in a coffin—her older sister, Alicia. But the network and ruthless executive producer determine that the show will go on. Prickly, olive-skinned Sierra, whom some suspect of murder, is returning—and she’s determined to find the killer. Her new team includes math whiz Carter Kelly, who’s Black; home-schooled, white-presenting Beck Matheson, who designs his own escape rooms and is trans; and Aditya Parvesh, who’s cued South Asian, has a way with words, and was pushed into auditioning by his movie star mother. At first, Team Helsing struggles to gel, but the teens’ shared desire to prove themselves makes them a formidable powerhouse—even if they’re hiding some of their true goals from one another. As clues to the killer’s identity start appearing, the players must try to make it to the finale before someone else becomes the next victim. This thrilling whodunit moves at a page-turning pace; the occasional reveals for the main mystery are well balanced with the tighter sequences of solving the escape rooms. The narration rotates among the central cast, allowing readers to empathize with each character in turn and be privy to even more intrigue.
Exhilarating, nonstop fun. (Mystery. 14-18)Pub Date: April 7, 2026
ISBN: 9798217006120
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Dec. 26, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2026
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter.
After a Nigerian British girl goes off to an exclusive boarding school that seems to prey on less-privileged students, she discovers there might be some truth behind an urban legend.
Ife Adebola joins the Urban Achievers scholarship program at pricey, high-pressure Nithercott School, arriving shortly after a student called Leon mysteriously disappeared. Gossip says he’s a victim of the glowing-eyed Changing Man who targets the lonely, leaving them changed. Ife doesn’t believe in the myth, but amid the stresses of Nithercott’s competitive, privileged, majority-white environment, where she is constantly reminded of her state school background, she does miss her friends and family. When Malika, a fellow Black scholarship student, disappears and then returns, acting strangely devoid of personality, Ife worries the Changing Man is real—and that she’s next. Ife joins forces with classmate Bijal and Benny, Leon’s younger brother, to uncover the truth about who the Changing Man is and what he wants. Culminating in a detailed, gory, and extended climactic battle, this verbose thriller tempts readers with a nefarious mystery involving racial and class-based violence but never quite lives up to its potential and peters out thematically by its explosive finale. However, this debut offers highly visually evocative and eerie descriptions of characters and events and will appeal to fans of creature horror, social commentary, and dark academia.
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781250868138
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: June 8, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023
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