A grisly, unflinching, and twisty page-turner that takes an honest look at human nature.
Hoping for sanctuary, a teen assumes another’s identity.
When a 16-year-old queer runaway is brought in for shoplifting, he spots a missing-person flyer for a child named Nathaniel Beaumont, and something clicks. Buoyed by his uncanny resemblance to the image that’s been age-progressed to show what the boy would look like today, he decides to borrow “Nathaniel’s name, just for a bit.” He’s conflicted about the lie, but he doesn’t want to go to jail—or worse, be returned to the parents who were about to send him to conversion therapy. After their blood types prove to be a match, the Beaumont family brings home to Chesapeake Bay the son who’s been missing for nearly a decade. Nate’s mother is overcome with joy, but his father and brother are skeptical. Miles, the cute neighbor who has a true crime podcast, knows right away that the new arrival isn’t the actual Nate, and the boys make a deal to work together to find out what really happened. As their bond deepens and they fall for each other, increasingly disturbing events occur. This thriller calculates the costs of denial, propelling the story to its dangerous, page-turning edge—and readers won’t be able to look away. At the novel’s heart is unconditional love, which even in the face of questionable morality offers a salve that heals broken people. Major characters read white.
A grisly, unflinching, and twisty page-turner that takes an honest look at human nature. (Thriller. 15-18)Pub Date: Jan. 20, 2026
ISBN: 9780063338326
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Storytide/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 10, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Only marginally intriguing.
In a remote part of Utah, in a “temple of excellence,” the best of the best are recruited to nurture their talents.
Redemption Preparatory is a cross between the Vatican and a top-secret research facility: The school is rooted in Christian ideology (but very few students are Christian), Mass is compulsory, cameras capture everything, and “maintenance” workers carry Tasers. When talented poet Emma disappears, three students, distrusting of the school administration, launch their own investigation. Brilliant chemist Neesha believes Emma has run away to avoid taking the heat for the duo’s illegal drug enterprise. Her boyfriend, an athlete called Aiden, naturally wants to find her. Evan, a chess prodigy who relies on patterns and has difficulty processing social signals, believes he knows Emma better than anyone. While the school is an insidious character on its own and the big reveal is slightly psychologically disturbing, Evan’s positioning as a tragic hero with an uncertain fate—which is connected to his stalking of Emma (even before her disappearance)—is far more unsettling. The ’90s setting provides the backdrop for tongue-in-cheek technological references but doesn’t do anything for the plot. Student testimonials and voice-to-text transcripts punctuate the three-way third-person narration that alternates among Neesha, Evan, and Aiden. Emma, Aiden, and Evan are assumed to be white; Neesha is Indian. Students are from all over the world, including Asia and the Middle East.
Only marginally intriguing. (Mystery. 15-18)Pub Date: April 14, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-266203-3
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Gruesomely violent with a disheartening take on the future.
A troubled teen in a zombie-infested landscape finds energy and purpose in killing.
Sixteen-year-old Quinn Wallace, surrendered by her adoptive parents at age 6 after just four years with them, is marking the time until she turns 18 and can leave the Pegasus Center, a residential treatment facility in Peoria, Illinois. She cynically chases the compliance points given for good behavior. Manipulative and in love with control, Quinn, who has ADHD (and, possibly, antisocial personality disorder), experiences “emotions differently than most people” and has had to learn to interpret others’ emotions; she gleans information about her fellow residents by secretly reading their charts. Reports of riots in Chicago feel remote until one day the chaos reaches their locked ward: A custodian reanimates following a violent death—she’s a carrier, someone infected with a “new and terrifying virus.” Quinn, 17-year-old Keisha, and a ragtag band from Pegasus flee the facility and head south. People underestimate petite, blond, pale-skinned, and sweet-faced Quinn, who’s protective of her Black-presenting crush, Keisha, who taught her how to turn on the charm and play people. First-person narrator Quinn feels “the warmth of excitement” when she kills. Many of her victims are one-note secondary characters whom she views as disposable. Salazar’s series opener, which was originally self-published in 2024 as The Dead Weight, explores mental health issues and neurodivergence in ways that unfortunately feel one-dimensional and offers little redemption for its protagonist.
Gruesomely violent with a disheartening take on the future. (Horror. 15-18)Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2026
ISBN: 9781464299292
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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