A fresh, enthusiastic, and wholly satisfying take on a familiar subgenre.
Teens with newfound powers may be the only ones who can stop an ancient evil from rising in Echlin (Gone, 2002) and Watrous’ (If You Follow Me, 2010) supernatural mystery.
Laurel Goodwin gets worried when she awakens one morning and sees big sis and bestie Ivy isn’t in their Airstream trailer in Cascade, Oregon. Ivy’s note still leaves Laurel anxious since the handwriting doesn’t quite match her sister’s. She and mom Sheila, however, are reluctant to involve authorities, fearing Child Protective Services will reopen Sheila’s old negligence case and split the family apart. Ivy’s friends haven’t seen her, and hunky new kid in school, Jasper Blake, is also looking for her. He’s been “tutoring” her, and Laurel’s shocked to learn both Ivy and Jasper have special abilities. This validates Laurel’s ominous dream in which Ivy displays her power—as a masked man’s kidnapping victim. According to an ancient prophecy, an evil force called Druj will rise during a lunar eclipse unless four people with special powers unite. Such powers could also help find Ivy. Unfortunately, two possibilities are Cascade’s resident mean girls, Peyton Andersen and Mei Rosen, who may be disinclined to help if for no other reason than spite. Supernatural teens in literature are old hat, but Echlin and Watrous inject their novel with zeal and ingenuity. Characters, for one, are expertly drawn. Jasper can’t be one of the select four since his power, as he enigmatically states, has caused harm. Similarly, Laurel’s first-person voice intermittently gives way to perspective from Peyton and Mei, providing both with much-needed sympathy. The narrative playfully reveals supertalents one at a time while the greatest mystery is who the demon-esque Druj will inhabit, if it hasn’t already done so. There are perhaps a few too many references to Jasper’s “incredible” green eyes or Ivy’s beauty. Despite this, potential romance between Laurel and Jasper is superbly understated, and the ending even teases a sequel.
A fresh, enthusiastic, and wholly satisfying take on a familiar subgenre.Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-942645-64-1
Page Count: 310
Publisher: Geek & Sundry
Review Posted Online: July 28, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Paulsen recalls personal experiences that he incorporated into Hatchet (1987) and its three sequels, from savage attacks by moose and mosquitoes to watching helplessly as a heart-attack victim dies. As usual, his real adventures are every bit as vivid and hair-raising as those in his fiction, and he relates them with relish—discoursing on “The Fine Art of Wilderness Nutrition,” for instance: “Something that you would never consider eating, something completely repulsive and ugly and disgusting, something so gross it would make you vomit just looking at it, becomes absolutely delicious if you’re starving.” Specific examples follow, to prove that he knows whereof he writes. The author adds incidents from his Iditarod races, describes how he made, then learned to hunt with, bow and arrow, then closes with methods of cooking outdoors sans pots or pans. It’s a patchwork, but an entertaining one, and as likely to win him new fans as to answer questions from his old ones. (Autobiography. 10-13)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-385-32650-5
Page Count: 150
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2000
A familiar but heartfelt romance for easygoing readers.
In O’Gorman’s YA debut, two best friends try to fool people into thinking that they’re in love—and then discover a new facet of their relationship.
Sally Spitz is a frizzy-haired 17-year-old girl with a charming zeal for three things: Harry Potter (she’s a Gryffindor), Star Wars, and getting into Duke University. During her senior year of high school, she goes on a slew of miserable dates, set up by her mother and her own second-best–friend–turned-matchmaker, Lillian Hooker. Sally refuses to admit to anyone that she’s actually head over Converses in love with her longtime best friend, a boy named Baldwin Eugene Charles Kent, aka “Becks.” After a particularly awkward date, Sally devises a plan to end Lillian’s matchmaking attempts; specifically, she plans to hire someone to act as her fake boyfriend, or “F.B.F.” But before Sally can put her plan into action, a rumor circulates that Sally and Becks are already dating. Becks agrees to act as Sally’s F.B.F. in exchange for a box of Goobers and Sally’s doing his calculus homework for a month. Later, as they hold hands in the hall and “practice” make-out sessions in Becks’ bedroom, their friendship heads into unfamiliar territory. Over the course of this novel, O’Gorman presents an inviting and enjoyable account of lifelong friendship transforming into young love. Though the author’s reliance on familiar tropes may be comforting to a casual reader, it may frustrate those who may be looking for a more substantial and less predictable plot. A number of ancillary characters lack very much complexity, and the story, overall, would have benefited from an added twist or two. Even so, however, this remains a largely engaging and often endearing debut.
A familiar but heartfelt romance for easygoing readers.Pub Date: Dec. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-64063-759-7
Page Count: 340
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Review Posted Online: Jan. 7, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
