Quietly thrilling
Frances is taking a break from her troubled family life and spending some time with cousins in a coastal English village.
The blackouts that she’s had off and on for years are becoming more frequent. What she hasn’t shared with anyone is that following each blackout, she creates drawings that are beginning to unnerve her. She meets a man in his 20s named Peter who sells postcards from his beach hut in Helmstown and who recognizes her as someone like him: a messenger of death. Peter also has blackouts, after which he paints minutely detailed scenes of someone dying. Within two days he must deliver the painting to that person or risk harm coming to someone he’s close to. Frances decides to take a different approach by trying to change events to prevent the deaths her drawings depict, but that has its own consequences. This unusual story’s strength lies in the depth of characterization that the author teases out of Frances’ introspection about her brother, who’s on the run from the police, as well as strong dialogue that reveals Peter’s struggle with the effects his strange power has had on his personal relationships. The premise is a bit thin, but it neatly serves as the vehicle by which Frances comes into her own.
Quietly thrilling . (Fantasy. 12-17)Pub Date: May 12, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-7112-9
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
The Phantom of the Opera served as inspiration, but this wouldn’t last on Broadway.
Stephanie and her family move into an old mansion rumored to have been put under a curse after a turn-of-the-20th-century rich boy meddled with an Egyptian mummy.
After her young sister complains about strange events, high school student Stephanie befriends Lucas, a geeky, good-looking boy, and meets the other members of SPOoKy, the Scientific Paranormal Organization of Kentucky: Charlotte, Wes, and Patrick. Stephanie learns the history of her new home from Lucas, who attracts her romantic attention, but the usually levelheaded girl is soon drawn to Erik, the handsome phantom who first comes to her in dreams. The story is told in chapters narrated by Stephanie, Lucas, and Zedok, whose identity is initially a source of confusion to Stephanie. Zedok appears wearing different masks, “personified slivers” of his soul, representing states of mind such as Wrath, Madness, and Valor. Meanwhile, until gifted singer Stephanie came along and he could write songs for her, Erik’s dreams were thwarted; he wanted to be a composer but his family expected him to become a doctor. In the gothic horror tradition, Erik’s full background and connection with Zedok are slowly revealed. Romantic dream sequences are lush and swoon-y, but the long, drawn-out battle to end the curse, aided by a celebrity clairvoyant, is tedious, and the constant introduction of Erik’s different personae is confusing. Most characters default to White; Patrick is Black.
The Phantom of the Opera served as inspiration, but this wouldn’t last on Broadway. (Horror. 13-16)Pub Date: Aug. 17, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-11604-3
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
Though this debut feels unevenly paced, the writing is strong, and the author shows promise.
When an ancient evil descends on her city, one girl considers the sacrifices required to thwart it.
The city of Vaiwyn is alive; the streets are its veins, and its heart beats like a clock. Mina Strauss’ family has a long history of protecting both the sentient city and its inhabitants. The city’s five Vesper Bells were forged by the Lost Alchemist generations ago to hold back a great evil—if a bell tolled 13 times, that evil would be revived. A Strauss stands guard at each bell, cutting the clappers that grow back every night. Mina inherited her bell earlier than anticipated when her beloved father died of the Talus Pox. Now she contends with the weight of that responsibility—and her cold, distant mother’s persistent disapproval. Mina finds solace with Max, the boy she’s slowly been falling in love with, and she’s with him the night her bell tolls 13 times and unleashes terror upon Vaiwyn. Mina is desperate to save the people she loves from imminent destruction, but there’s more to Vaiwyn’s history—and her own—than she knows. Despite strong prose, the exposition-heavy beginning and a few overly telegraphed plot twists hamper the narrative’s pacing. Still, readers will likely be drawn to the original concept, complicated family dynamics, and well-articulated depth of demisexual Mina’s developing relationship with Max. Most characters read white.
Though this debut feels unevenly paced, the writing is strong, and the author shows promise. (content warnings) (Fantasy. 13-17)Pub Date: March 11, 2025
ISBN: 9781250322807
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
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