An intricate, action-filled sequel with heart.
A gang of teens regroups to plan another heist—this time in Switzerland—in this sequel to Heiress Takes All (2024).
A year after the events of the first novel, Olivia Owens plans a second job, this time at Volenvell Castle, the home of her extraordinarily wealthy grandmother, Leonie Owens, whom she hasn’t seen in years—not since Leonie broke off contact with Olivia’s father. The castle is located in the Swiss Alps, and Olivia has been invited there to celebrate Leonie’s 70th birthday. Joining her are her adoring boyfriend, Jackson, and the other members of her crew: talented baker Deonte, incorrigible Kevin, and dashing Tom. The addition of Tom’s sister, Grace, makes up for the absence of Olivia’s own sister, Abigail, who’s a talented hacker. Olivia’s elaborate plan involves having one of her friends run interference while the rest find their way into a vault that holds gold bullion and diamonds. But they face serious challenges that Olivia hadn’t planned on. Olivia is both confident and vulnerable, and the over-the-top caper is grounded by her unsettled feelings toward her father and her grandmother. Romance fans will thrill to the idealized relationship between Olivia and Jackson, and the wedge that’s again driven between them, clearly setting the stage for a follow-up, will stir up readers’ feelings. Olivia, Jackson, and Kevin present white, Tom and Grace are implied Vietnamese, and the earlier book established that Deonte is Black.
An intricate, action-filled sequel with heart. (Thriller. 13-18)Pub Date: June 24, 2025
ISBN: 9780316566797
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
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
BOOK REVIEW
A powerful story of family, belonging, and identity interlaced with thriller elements.
A wary teen wonders if she should run when people come looking for her.
Lucy Smith was raised by her white father, who said little about her mother. Following his death and her stepmother’s abandonment, Lucy entered the foster care system at 14. Her stepmother revealed that Lucy’s birth mom was Native American, but her social worker urged her to keep that quiet. Battered by her time in the foster care system, it’s no wonder that 18-year-old Lucy is cautious when she’s approached by a man who says he’s an attorney who helps Native American foster kids connect with their families and communities. He introduces her to a friend who reveals to Lucy that she knows her Ojibwe maternal relatives—but a wary Lucy refuses her offer to learn more. Someone is stalking her, after all, and the FBI is investigating the bomb that went off in the diner where she worked—an event she’s sure targeted her. This stand-alone from bestseller Boulley, who’s an enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, includes characters her fans will recognize from previous works. The action scenes are mediated by ruminations on the failings of the foster care system and strong portrayals of Lucy’s relationship with her father and her complicated identity. Ardent book lover Lucy is a sympathetic narrator whose strong sense of justice is coupled with a deep acceptance of others.
A powerful story of family, belonging, and identity interlaced with thriller elements. (content warning, author’s note) (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2025
ISBN: 9781250328533
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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