Yet another orphaned teen uncovers his magical heritage, in the debut of a cheerfully derivative horror series. At 14, newly orphaned Devon March is sent to Amanda Crandall, mistress of Ravenscliff mansion, in a creepy seaside town called Misery Point, where thunder and lightning conveniently punctuate any portentous statement. Devon comes with a lot of questions about his new home, but also a few secrets, such as his intermittent abilities of telekinesis and demon-wrestling. The mysterious Voice that guides Devon hints that answers reside at Ravenscliff, but Mrs. Crandall firmly squashes any inquiries into the past. Still, he can’t avoid the dark rumors that swirl around Ravenscliff, and especially its former master, the diabolical Jackson Muir. Why are demons again stalking the streets of Misery Point? Why does Devon feel compelled to seek out resentful ex-convict Rolfe Montaigne? What secrets lurk in the boarded-up East Wing? Could Jackson Muir’s malevolent influence extend beyond the grave? And what does it all have to do with Devon, and the sorcerous Order of the Nightwing? The pseudonymous Huntington tosses in every imaginable gothic cliché: gnarled retainers, secret passageways, possessed children, weeping portraits, sinister clowns, hidden tomes, forbidden romances, even maggot-infested corpses, complemented by an incessant barrage of pop-culture references. The overstuffed plot careens along in a recklessly urgent present tense, lurid purple metaphors teetering on the edge of self-parody. More of a carnival thrill ride than a novel; still, Huntington is so obviously having fun that it’s easy to just sit back and enjoy the trip. (Fiction. 12+)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-06-001425-3
Page Count: 288
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2002
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
Lush, angsty, queer horror.
When the monsters they imagine come to life, two boys fight for their lives—and each other.
Andrew Perrault, who’s from Australia, writes beautiful, macabre fairy tales. His roommate at his American boarding school, Wickwood Academy, is talented artist Thomas Rye, who brings his stories to vivid life in paint and charcoal. Andrew’s twin sister, Dove, is all but ignoring him, so he has plenty of time to focus on Thomas’ increasingly odd behavior. Thomas’ parents disappeared just before the new school year started, and Andrew noticed blood on his roommate’s sleeve on their first day back. When he follows Thomas into the forest one night, Andrew discovers him fighting one of the monsters that Thomas has drawn from these stories. The boys soon find themselves coping with vicious bullies by day and fighting monsters by night. At the same time, Andrew struggles to reconcile his feelings for Thomas with his growing awareness of his own asexuality. But when the sinister Antler King breaches Wickwood’s walls, Andrew realizes that he and Thomas may not survive their own creations. This novel, written in rich, extravagant prose, features frank portrayals of disordered eating, self-harm, bullying, and mental illness. Andrew grapples realistically with his sexual identity, and the story has ample genuinely creepy moments with the monsters. Andrew, Thomas, and Dove are white.
Lush, angsty, queer horror. (content warning) (Horror. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 29, 2024
ISBN: 9781250895660
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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