Chilling and mostly frightfully believable.
High school freshman Cara has been suffering from a severe, debilitating chronic illness since third grade.
She’s missed so much school that she’s way behind and struggling to catch up. Her seemingly caring mother, Shaylene, records videos for her social media channel that not only offer detailed information about Cara’s health struggles, but recently have been used to raise large amounts of crowdsourced money to—supposedly—pay for specialized health care. Now Dr. Eric, a new medical professional, has come on the scene with a different, even more intrusive care plan. After Cara is befriended by Xavier, a clever classmate afflicted with sickle cell anemia, she discovers that her mother is monitoring their text messages. Xavier’s belief that Shaylene is inappropriately interfering and controlling inspires Cara to take a fresh look at her relationship with her mother—and the care she provides. Although there are tiny hints that Cara’s mother has a frightening role in her illness, Xavier is the one who suggests the possibility of Munchausen syndrome by proxy. Cara decides to test that possibility, leading to a breathlessly scary confrontation and a satisfying affirmation of her unbroken spirit and emerging maturity. Characters are believably depicted, although Shaylene’s downward evolution, under Dr. Eric’s guidance, is perhaps a bit too facile. Most main characters are White; Xavier is African American.
Chilling and mostly frightfully believable. (Thriller. 12-15)Pub Date: April 6, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-338-63096-1
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Jan. 25, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
A deliciously disturbing, twisted tale.
Teens endure fallout from a game of Bloody Mary.
Everybody’s done it at some point: You look in the mirror and repeat the name Bloody Mary. Sometimes, the legend says, you’ll see your true love. Sometimes they say you’ll see the ghost’s face, and it means you will die young. But these four fourth grade friends—Grace, Calvin, Elena, and Steph—didn’t count on their little game’s still affecting them five years later. They were just having some spooky fun in Elena’s deceased grandmother’s room, after all. But now, even after all these years have passed, each of them still sees a shape behind them whenever they look in a mirror. But the frights really begin when a new girl arrives at school. Her name is Mary. The author effectively and slowly ratchets the tension and dread, crafting some cleverly frightening sequences that fans of the genre will love. Less effective is the characterization: As each chapter pivots perspectives, some readers may have to double back and sort out which of the troubled teens they’re following. As the scares pile up and the descent into madness moves forward, the characterization gets a bit crisper, but the first few chapters may pose a bit of a hurdle. The novel’s conclusion is satisfactory, but the real highlights here are the spooky sequences. The teens are all presumed White.
A deliciously disturbing, twisted tale. (Horror. 12-15)Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-338-67927-4
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Quietly suspenseful, vividly character-driven, and poignant, with insights into cerebral palsy and the multiple meanings of...
A nonverbal teen becomes the “real-life password” to solving a terrible crime in this British import.
Sixteen-year-old Jemma has “no secrets of [her] own.” Quadriplegic due to cerebral palsy, she can’t move or speak and depends on her foster parents and her aide, Sarah, for everything from eating to using the bathroom. But people often share their secrets with her. After all, Jemma can never tell—even when Sarah’s sleazy boyfriend, Dan, hints at his involvement in a recent murder just before Sarah goes missing. But when innovative technology offers Jemma a chance to communicate, can she expose Dan’s secret before he silences her? Despite its suspenseful premise, the plot pales against Joelson’s (Girl in the Window, 2018) intimate, unflinching exploration of Jemma’s character; the book’s most powerful tension lies in Jemma’s simple, direct narration of her unrecognized, uncomfortably realistic frustrations and fears, such as patronizing adults who “don’t realize that [she has] a functioning brain” and her worry that her overwhelmed parents will stop fostering. Refreshingly, the author’s detailed depiction of augmentative and alternative communication explores both the joy of self-expression and the physical and mental effort it requires. Jemma’s bond with her chaotic but supportive foster family grounds the story, particularly her touching rapport with her younger foster brother, Finn, who’s autistic and also nonverbal. Most characters appear white.
Quietly suspenseful, vividly character-driven, and poignant, with insights into cerebral palsy and the multiple meanings of “family.” (Suspense. 12-15)Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4926-9336-9
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Aug. 12, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
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