Clocking in at over 500 pages, this attempt by Han and Vivian to craft a Carrie-meets–John Tucker Must Die novel falls very...
Revenge might be a dish best served cold but not when it’s as unappetizing and bloated as this sequel to Burn for Burn (2012).
At first, in the aftermath of the homecoming debacle, Kat, Lillia and Mary think they’re done with revenge. But then they regroup and focus their efforts on one person: star quarterback Reeve, who broke his leg after Lillia drugged him at the dance and who used to bully the still-fragile Mary. There are signs that Reeve has a crush on Lillia, so the girls decide she will get close to Reeve and then break his heart. This has the bonus of hurting Rennie, Kat’s nemesis and Lillia’s new frenemy. The movement of Lillia to the forefront of the novel and the slow growth of her feelings for Reeve are compelling, but Kat’s relegation to the sidelines and the strange supernatural powers that Mary discovers make the book feel uneven. When the truth about Mary is finally revealed, it’s just a distraction from the more interesting plot points—and feels totally unnecessary.
Clocking in at over 500 pages, this attempt by Han and Vivian to craft a Carrie-meets–John Tucker Must Die novel falls very flat. (Fiction. 15-18)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4424-4078-4
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 30, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Green seamlessly bridges the gap between the present and the existential, and readers will need more than one box of tissues...
He’s in remission from the osteosarcoma that took one of his legs. She’s fighting the brown fluid in her lungs caused by tumors. Both know that their time is limited.
Sparks fly when Hazel Grace Lancaster spies Augustus “Gus” Waters checking her out across the room in a group-therapy session for teens living with cancer. He’s a gorgeous, confident, intelligent amputee who always loses video games because he tries to save everyone. She’s smart, snarky and 16; she goes to community college and jokingly calls Peter Van Houten, the author of her favorite book, An Imperial Affliction, her only friend besides her parents. He asks her over, and they swap novels. He agrees to read the Van Houten and she agrees to read his—based on his favorite bloodbath-filled video game. The two become connected at the hip, and what follows is a smartly crafted intellectual explosion of a romance. From their trip to Amsterdam to meet the reclusive Van Houten to their hilariously flirty repartee, readers will swoon on nearly every page. Green’s signature style shines: His carefully structured dialogue and razor-sharp characters brim with genuine intellect, humor and desire. He takes on Big Questions that might feel heavy-handed in the words of any other author: What do oblivion and living mean? Then he deftly parries them with humor: “My nostalgia is so extreme that I am capable of missing a swing my butt never actually touched.” Dog-earing of pages will no doubt ensue.
Green seamlessly bridges the gap between the present and the existential, and readers will need more than one box of tissues to make it through Hazel and Gus’ poignant journey. (Fiction. 15 & up)Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-525-47881-2
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: Jan. 9, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A deep dive into trauma, with light at the end of the tunnel.
A teen’s sense of self is unsettled by a kidnapping.
After a prologue reveals the hero’s captive status, the story introduces Sayers Wayte as he was before—an uber-wealthy, hard-partying, privilege-flaunting Texas teen who’s falling in with a meaner crowd (including a friendship with a bully who ridicules Sayers’ best friend for his bisexuality and targets a vulnerable nerd in encounters that rapidly escalate to disturbing levels off-page). The first act balances Sayers’ charm and potential with his character failings while keeping readers guessing who the kidnapper will be (and what their motivations are). Once he’s been kidnapped, Sayers must attempt to manipulate his kidnapper by playing along with who the kidnapper wants him to be—at first, it’s a ruse to create chances to try to escape, but eventually Sayers’ identity and feelings toward his kidnapper begin to blur. A dangerous discovery pushes his mind to the brink to protect him and keep him alive. Unlike hostage stories that end with the rescue, Roe digs deep into what happens in the aftermath as Sayers tries to learn how to be a functioning individual again and struggles with rebuilding his entire self. There are no easy answers for Sayers’ issues, but with determination and help from key friends, he finds hope. Aside from a character with a Guatemalan father, most characters default to White.
A deep dive into trauma, with light at the end of the tunnel. (Thriller. 15-18)Pub Date: Oct. 11, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-305173-7
Page Count: 512
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
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