An absorbing mystery that explores friendship, grief, mental health, and wordplay.
Returning to the Scrabble tournament where her best friend died a year earlier conjures up lingering trauma for a teen competitor.
Sixteen-year-old Najwa Bakri has suffered from panic attacks, memory gaps, intrusive negative thoughts, and an obsession with her late friend Trina Low’s Instagram account. At last year’s Word Warrior Weekend, Trina collapsed and died in a high-stakes game, leaving her opponent, Josh Tan, the tournament winner. Trina, a wealthy, effervescent social media influencer, was dubbed the Queen of the Tiles for her Scrabble skills. Najwa, a short, chubby hijabi from Kuala Lumpur, has a passion for learning the meanings of words rather than just memorizing letter combinations like many contestants. Surrounded by their Scrabble circle—Josh; Mark, Trina’s boyfriend; nonbinary Shuba; Singaporean Ben, who had a crush on Trina; Emily, who was caught cheating during a game; Puteri, Mark’s ex-girlfriend; and Yasmin, Trina’s childhood friend—Najwa remembers her therapist’s advice and struggles to maintain emotional equilibrium. It’s bad enough when Instagram stories appear from Trina’s account containing scrambled letters spelling ominous words like REGICIDE and JANIFORM. But when Najwa starts receiving cryptic, chilling DMs supposedly from Trina, it’s even worse. Mark convinces her to join him in investigating whether Trina was actually murdered. The tense, evenly paced mystery unfolds against the fascinating backdrop of competitive Scrabble with a cast of well-rounded characters who reflect Malaysia’s ethnic diversity. Interesting game trivia and vocabulary add to the originality.
An absorbing mystery that explores friendship, grief, mental health, and wordplay. (Mystery. 12-18)Pub Date: April 19, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5344-9455-8
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Salaam Reads/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 25, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
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
BOOK REVIEW
A uniquely arranged bouquet of terrors, as disturbing as it is beautiful.
A family’s secrets rise to the surface as a young man investigates a suspected murder.
Evander, who’s 17 and lonely, never leaves his room in the manor on Hazelthorn Estate. He’s told he’s too fragile and is locked away “for his safety” while an elderly butler feeds him brain-addling “medicine.” But one night changes Evander’s life—and the manor’s future—forever. Byron Lennox-Hall, Evander’s billionaire guardian and the family’s patriarch, dies unexpectedly. Relatives descend upon Hazelthorn like vultures as a shocking twist reveals that Byron left everything to Evander alone. Without Byron around to keep his only grandchild and presumed heir, Laurence “Laurie” Lennox-Hall, away from his ward, Laurie and Evander become the unlikeliest of allies. When they were boys, Laurie attempted to kill Evander—but, maddeningly, Evander can’t stop thinking about him. He also suspects that someone murdered Byron. Drews’ latest starts off as a straightforward whodunit and turns into something that’s far more sinister—and delicious. From descriptions of moth-eaten decay to vivid floral imagery, Drews luxuriates in atmospheric prose. Their literary green thumb nurtures intertwining themes of monstrosity and abuse alongside yearning, first love, queerness, and mystery. The slow-burn romance at the root of this blend of gothic and body horror is as tender as it is unforgettable. Evander is cued as autistic, and main characters present white.
A uniquely arranged bouquet of terrors, as disturbing as it is beautiful. (author’s note) (Horror. 13-18)Pub Date: Oct. 28, 2025
ISBN: 9781250376299
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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