An urban legend too light on either gore or camp to be any fun.
Four friends face the dire consequences of summoning the infamous Bloody Mary.
Over April vacation spent in Solomon’s Folly, Massachusetts, Shauna’s best friend, Jess, learned how to properly summon Bloody Mary from her great-aunt Dell. Armed with a letter written by Mary Worth, a 19th-century resident of the little town, Jess convinces Shauna and their two friends to attempt to summon the ghost. To Jess’ delight, the ritual works perfectly: Mary’s decrepit hand scratches behind the mirror through a thick fog. Underwhelmed with the first sighting, Jess persuades her friends to try again, and this time, Mary is ready: She climbs right through the mirror, raking her nails down Shauna’s back. Suddenly the girls are faced with the threat that Mary might appear in any shiny surface, and Shauna discovers that the unrelenting, bloodthirsty ghost follows her every move. Monahan’s depiction of the initial summoning is chilling, but each new appearance of Bloody Mary reads as more and more hackneyed, swiftly veering into B-movie territory. A satisfying twist strengthens the ending, but the lack of character development makes it difficult to feel anything for the girls. The highest intrigue lies in the snippets of Bloody Mary’s origin story, which is woefully underused. It’s unclear where the series may go from here.
Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4231-8519-2
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
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
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in.
Black is back with another dark tale of Faerie, this one set in Faerie and launching a new trilogy.
Jude—broken, rebuilt, fueled by anger and a sense of powerlessness—has never recovered from watching her adoptive Faerie father murder her parents. Human Jude (whose brown hair curls and whose skin color is never described) both hates and loves Madoc, whose murderous nature is true to his Faerie self and who in his way loves her. Brought up among the Gentry, Jude has never felt at ease, but after a decade, Faerie has become her home despite the constant peril. Black’s latest looks at nature and nurture and spins a tale of court intrigue, bloodshed, and a truly messed-up relationship that might be the saving of Jude and the titular prince, who, like Jude, has been shaped by the cruelties of others. Fierce and observant Jude is utterly unaware of the currents that swirl around her. She fights, plots, even murders enemies, but she must also navigate her relationship with her complex family (human, Faerie, and mixed). This is a heady blend of Faerie lore, high fantasy, and high school drama, dripping with description that brings the dangerous but tempting world of Faerie to life.
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-31027-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
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