Abuse coupled with the death of a friend drives a teen over the edge and toward a new life. Jayson Porter wonders why he doesn’t stand up to the constant abuse of his alcoholic mother. Unfortunately, Bandon, Fla., has few options for an interracial 16-year-old whose skills include avoiding neighborhood thugs, cleaning motor-homes and failing classes. After an unsuccessful suicidal leap lands him in traction, Jayson begins to confront both his inner turmoil and his kidnappers. Adoff’s narrative blends verse styling with short chapters, accurately reflecting Jayson’s conflicted personality and disjointed home life. Though tragically flawed, the characters are ultimately underdeveloped; Jessie’s alcoholism only partly explains her abuse and raises questions as to the authenticity of her anger toward Jayson. Adoff’s portrayal of the weakened Jayson and ultimate reunion with Trina creates a saccharine feeling in the second half of the book, which is incongruous with the pervasive despair in the first half. As Jayson comes back to life, readers can’t help but wish the turnaround had been more realistic. (Fiction. YA)
Pub Date: April 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-1-4231-0691-3
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Disney-Jump at the Sun
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2008
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An interesting premise unevenly executed.
Eighteen-year-old Venus Stoneheart is a witcher with a pain-filled past and an uncertain future.
In an alternate version of the greater Washington, D.C., metro area, Venus’ mother, the formidable Clarissa Stoneheart, used to be the Love Witcher. She broke her pledge to only brew love potions, lost her magic as a consequence, and then turned her attention to teaching Venus, the new Love Witcher, “her 3-B philosophy…Get your bag, brew, and bounce.” When Clarissa is murdered, Venus is tested to her limits as she fights external forces by using her calling (her magical ability to brew) for political gain while also struggling to quiet the deviation (or trauma-inflicted corruption of her calling) that infects her. The deviation, which she calls It, can give Venus access to immense power, but she’s still haunted, in more ways than she realizes, by the first time it was uncaged, when she was 15. The buildup to action takes some time, and the plot can be confusing to follow, given the digressions to explain the worldbuilding. Characters are alternately centered, pushed to the periphery, and then brought into focus again, seemingly in service of filling plot gaps but without necessarily moving the story forward. Patient readers will eventually encounter unexpected twists and turns that provide an exciting and satisfying ending. Recipes for potions readers can brew themselves deepen the pull into this witchery world.
An interesting premise unevenly executed. (content warning, author’s note, glossary) (Fantasy. 15-18)Pub Date: March 5, 2024
ISBN: 9781728251950
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2024
An immersive, compassionate tale about coming-of-age in a single night.
Tegan’s world was unraveling before Mac stumbled into the museum; tonight could change everything.
Tegan misses her father and disdains her mother, now happy with her live-in partner, Charlie. After a fight with her mom, Tegan’s taken refuge after hours at the Thomas Edison Center, where she’s been an intern. Born with just a thumb and ring finger on her left hand and perennially hyperaware of her appearance, she’s shocked and embarrassed when Mac, a classmate and popular jock, arrives—his hand bleeding—and asks her to call 911 to report a potential suicide. Tegan complies, then tends to his wound. She’s been crying and ran outside in old clothes but recognizes Mac is frazzled, too. At a loss, she gives him a museum tour. Over the long, snowy night, they connect. Mac’s trusting willingness to share difficult life events disarms Tegan, awakening a yearning to share her own, more toxic secret despite the risk. Despite unnecessarily schematic plotting (key information is initially withheld), the story and characters will sustain reader interest. Emmich captures the excruciating self-consciousness and lacerating self-talk of adolescence, magnified and relentlessly scrutinized through social media and here exacerbated by Tegan’s limb difference and fractured family. Tegan’s struggles to reconcile her longing both for invisibility and to be seen and understood are compelling, familiar, and moving. Most characters are presumed White; Charlie is Black, and Tegan’s best friend is Indian American.
An immersive, compassionate tale about coming-of-age in a single night. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 21, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-316-53570-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Poppy/Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: July 7, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 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.
