Too long, too many characters, too many subplots and far too many trendy ingredients stirred in just for effect.
Best-selling mystery writer George continues her series for teens set on Whidbey Island in Washington state with this mystery about an unusual seal connected to the Celtic selkie myth.
The first volume in the series, The Edge of Nowhere (2012), focused on Becca, a girl with the power to understand some of the thoughts of others around her. This story also includes Becca and her on-again, off-again boyfriend, Derric, but the main character this time is Jenn, a bitter 15-year-old from an impoverished, dysfunctional family. Jenn is just beginning to question her sexual orientation, but many are already convinced she is a lesbian, and she is the target of relentless homophobic bullying (that evidently goes without consequence). Jenn befriends a marine biologist named Annie who rents a trailer near Jenn’s home and employs Jenn as an assistant. Annie is bisexual, and she tries repeatedly and inappropriately but unsuccessfully to interest Jenn in exploring sex with her. Troublingly, the text does not seem to question the stereotypes it exploits, from the predatory gay adult to Jenn’s slight frame and short haircut; Jenn’s sexual questioning is not resolved. The actual mystery revolves around Jenn’s and Becca’s involvement with Annie and other adults in a long, complicated search for an unusual coal-black seal that returns to the island every year.
Too long, too many characters, too many subplots and far too many trendy ingredients stirred in just for effect. (Paranormal mystery. 12 & up)Pub Date: March 11, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-670-01297-8
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Jan. 21, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2014
An ambitious tale that mostly falls flat.
A grieving teen lashes out in this dark comedy.
In a small town in Montana, 15-year-old Tiffany Templeton is “the toughest girl in the trailer park”—but no one knows she keeps a typewriter case filled with secrets hidden behind the laundromat. Tiffany used to be bullied for how fat her parents were, but then her father died unexpectedly last year. Her mother had bariatric surgery and now tracks her weight loss on the price sign in front of the town’s only gas station. Tiffany stays busy working on a play she wrote about young prostitutes who died in a fire in 1911—directed by her gay best friend and acted by a group of senior citizens. In scenes that flash back and forth in time, Tiffany reveals the events that led to her being sentenced to three months in juvenile detention. Fifield (The Flood Girls, 2016, etc.) succeeds in delivering a cast of quirky, unpredictable characters and an intriguing plot, especially when he focuses on the unspooling of Tiffany’s backstory. However, the uneven pace and several unfortunate flippant and insensitive remarks that misfire as humor are at odds with the otherwise strong writing. All main characters are white except for Tiffany’s probation officer, who is black.
An ambitious tale that mostly falls flat. (Fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: March 10, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-3589-5
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Dec. 15, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
A dark, modern fairy tale.
An American girl finds family amid palace intrigue and a murder mystery.
During the six years since Evangeline Bright’s father gained custody of her, she has lived in boarding schools and summer camps. After nine expulsions, Evan is at her latest school, St. Edith’s Academy for Girls in Vermont, where she accidentally lights the calculus teacher’s office on fire. Now she is facing potential arrest. Reluctantly, she agrees to go to Windsor Castle, where she will meet her father for the first time—her father who happens to be the king of the United Kingdom. Evan hopes it will only be for a few weeks, until her 18th birthday, when she plans to reunite with her mom, who has schizophrenia. However, the news that the king has a secret daughter the same age as Princess Mary, her half sister who is next in line for throne, is just the start of the press feeding frenzy. After Evan is given date rape drugs by Jasper, the son of a media mogul, she is fortunately rescued by the queen’s nephew, Kit. But when Jasper is found dead, all fingers point to Evan. While some suspension of disbelief is needed, the relationships feel real and earned, mental health issues are treated respectfully, and the mystery and a potential romance will keep pages turning. Central characters are assumed White.
A dark, modern fairy tale. (family tree) (Mystery. 13-18)Pub Date: March 7, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-48589-7
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Nov. 28, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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