A decent hook ruined by shoddy characters and limp plotting.
When a local teen celebrity goes missing, her ex-boyfriend becomes the prime suspect.
White teens Tony Gardner and Hope Jensen have just broken up, and everyone at school is on Hope’s side. Hope is the rich, beautiful daughter of the local morning show anchors, while Tony is just a poor nobody. Licking his wounds, Tony spends the night signing Hope up for every dating app and free-sample delivery he can find, plastering her picture and address all over the internet. The next day Hope calls, begging him to take it all down, and during the call Tony hears Hope abducted. While the town searches for Hope, Tony does his best to avoid suspicion, to no avail. Fairly early on, Hope is revealed to have Gone Girl–ed Tony, faking her kidnapping to get even. But things go terribly awry. The novel’s hook raises interest, but the characters quickly scuttle it. Hope is a shallow, vindictive person with little going for her, and self-centered Tony continually makes staggeringly bad decisions. The author effectively crafts a town coming together to search for a missing person and the paranoid atmosphere that emerges, but the center doesn’t hold. These two teens are just too inert to engage readers. A last-minute turn lands with a thud.
A decent hook ruined by shoddy characters and limp plotting. (Thriller. 12-16)Pub Date: July 4, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-4736-2
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Review Posted Online: April 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2017
An eerie thriller reminiscent of summer horror movies that will keep readers on edge.
Two teens with a dark secret return to their old summer camp.
Childhood friends Esme and Kayla can’t wait to return to Camp Pine Lake as counselors-in-training, ready to try everything they couldn’t do when they were younger: find cute boys, stay up late, and sneak out after hours. Even Andy, their straight-laced supervisor, can’t dampen their excitement, especially after they meet the crushworthy Olly and Jake. An intuitive 17-year-old, Esme is ready to jump in and teach her cute little campers. But when a threatening message appears, Esme and Kayla realize the secret they’ve kept hidden for nearly a decade is no longer safe. Paranoia and fear soon cause Esme and Kayla to revisit their ominous secret and realize that nobody in the camp can be trusted. The slow buildup of suspense and the use of classic horror elements contrast with lighthearted camp activities, bonding with new friends, and budding romance. Similarly, Esme’s first-person point of view allows for increased tension and action as well as offering insight into her emotional and mental well-being. Discussions of adulthood, trauma, and recovery are subtle and realistic, but acts of sexism and machismo aren’t fully analyzed. While the strong buildup of action comes late, it leads to a shockingly satisfying finale. Major characters are White.
An eerie thriller reminiscent of summer horror movies that will keep readers on edge. (Thriller. 12-16)Pub Date: March 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12497-0
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Dec. 9, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2021
An atmospheric and entertaining thriller perfect for snowy night chills.
A group of teens stranded in a snowstorm discovers a murderer in their midst.
While traveling on the highway to a state theater competition, Nell and her friends Min, Raven, Adam, and Jermaine are caught in a dangerous blizzard. Their teacher, Mrs. McElroy, who is driving the minivan, decides to stop for the night at the run-down and shady-looking Travel Inn and Out. The motel is labyrinthine and spooky, with dingy corridors and walls adorned with moldering kitsch. Nell and the gang meet another group of kids who are also stranded by the storm, making fast friends. A game of Two Truths and a Lie starts out flirty and fun but devolves into something more sinister when one slip of paper reads “I like to watch people die,” and “I’ve lost count of how many people I’ve killed.” The snow falls and the winds howl, and soon power and cell service are lost, cutting off the motel patrons from the outside world. As the first victim is discovered and the body count begins to grow, the terror becomes palpable. Everyone at the motel seems to have an insidious secret: Will Nell be able to uncover the killer before they strike again? An homage to Agatha Christie, Henry’s locked-room mystery is tautly plotted, with quick-moving nail-biting chapters, relatable characters, and a deftly wrought setting that paradoxically manages to feel both claustrophobic and sprawling. Nell is White; there is diversity among the secondary characters.
An atmospheric and entertaining thriller perfect for snowy night chills. (Mystery. 12-16)Pub Date: May 24, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-316-32333-8
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Christy Ottaviano Books
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2022
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