Another gruesomely engrossing installment with the promise of more to come.
Return to the frighteningly familiar world of violent entertainment—this time the murder is crowdfunded.
When she loses one of her moms in a car crash shortly after Dee Guerrera and her friends killed The Postman and brought down the reality show–based death row Alcatraz 2.0, white 17-year-old Becca Martinello doesn’t really care much about the resulting political and online fallout. That is, until a strange, attractive girl shows up claiming that Becca’s mom lived a second life as Molly Mauler, one of the Alcatraz 2.0 eccentric executioners. The only way Becca can prove her mom’s innocence (or guilt) is to audition for a new, supposedly nonlethal serial killer reality show “Who Wants to Be a Paniac?” and uncover its connection to The Postman—provided, of course, that she can survive long enough. With an established world to work with, McNeil (#Murdertrending, 2018, etc.) has eased up on the throttle with this sequel, letting elements such as political intrigue simmer effectively in the background and steadily integrating them to underpin the main action. Still heavily driven by fight and flight, the plot gains an extra layer of complexity as it alternates between Becca’s investigation and Dee’s continued crusade until the two collide. Inclusive efforts at representation continue here but are marred somewhat by “bury your gays” fallbacks.
Another gruesomely engrossing installment with the promise of more to come. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Aug. 6, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-368-02627-7
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Freeform/Disney
Review Posted Online: May 5, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2019
Readers will be captivated by this twisty thriller and its uncompromising protagonist.
The mother Annabel Price thought was dead returns with a story about where she’s been—but 18-year-old Bel knows she’s lying.
Ever since Rachel Price’s unexplained disappearance 16 years ago, true-crime fans have come up with plentiful theories about what happened. Bel and her family members, who are white, cobbled together lives for themselves after a jury found Bel’s father, Charlie, not guilty of murdering his wife. Beset with medical bills for his elderly father, Charlie recently agreed to participate in a documentary about the unsolved mystery. Black British filmmaker Ramsey Lee is well into the process of interviewing the Prices when his project gets an unanticipated boost after an exhausted, disheveled Rachel staggers back into town. Rachel is eager to resume her role in the family, but the inconsistencies in her accounts raise alarms for Bel. With the help of the youngest member of the filmmaking team, Bel sets out to learn what really happened. Along the way, someone else disappears, and Bel uncovers a tangle of lies that make it impossible for her to trust people she thought she knew. When things come to a head the night of her grandfather’s 85th birthday party, Bel ends up in a race for her life. The last quarter of the novel tears along at a breakneck pace before arriving at a satisfying and unexpected conclusion.
Readers will be captivated by this twisty thriller and its uncompromising protagonist. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 9780593374207
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.
A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.
Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
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