Sloppy and cringeworthy
Two years after Violet destroyed the Intercept in The Dark Intercept (2017), she’s pulled into a mystery that reveals the Intercept might not be gone.
A one-page recap covers the events and technology of the last book. Violet now runs the near-failing Crowley & Associates Detective Agency. She’s offered a case by the mother of a teen whose death has been ruled a suicide—the mother knows her daughter wouldn’t kill herself. Readers must power through Violet’s tensionless doubt despite definitive knowledge from the girl’s point-of-view passage right before her death and multiple pages about the other mysterious alleged suicides that follow (and that convince Violet that it’s more than a coincidence). Many of the investigation’s deductions come from Violet’s fellow teen employee (one of the few characters of color), while Violet dwells on the dark secret that she and Kendall saved his notes on the Intercept. Themes of change and of despair linked to unemployment are less relatable to the characters’ chronological ages than to the ages they act—most characters are fully independent genius prodigies, including a preteen who’s “one of the top lawyers on New Earth.” The uneven writing bounces among maudlin, melodramatic, and painfully cliché, with narration clunkers like “…the Intercept is dead. Or is it?” (of course it’s not) and “The tables had turned. The hunters were about to become the hunted.” The conclusion will frustrate.
Sloppy and cringeworthy . (Dystopian adventure. 12-adult)Pub Date: Nov. 13, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-7653-8765-3
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Tor Teen
Review Posted Online: Sept. 1, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2018
A suspenseful story that starts off with great promise but fails to deliver.
A teenage girl struggles with the question of whom to trust in the age of social media exposure.
Thanks to Connie’s mom’s family vlog, her life is anything but private. She enjoyed it at first, but now, between the mean comments online and the cruel mockery from peers in real life, Connie feels like she’s in a prison. Her sister, Isla, says it’s worth it for the money, but Connie isn’t sure if that’s really true. Connie’s anger over Mom’s refusal to heed warnings that revealing so much puts them in danger continues to build. When she’s left alone for two weeks while Mom and Isla go on a college road trip, local girls start dying, and a fan reaches out on social media in an unsettling way, leaving Connie worried about her safety. White-presenting Connie’s sense of humor is charming, and her insights will earn readers’ sympathy as the tension builds. As emotions rise, Preston’s poetic language beautifully captures Connie’s feelings about her mom’s obsession with social media and her confusion about who is worthy of her trust. The topics of safety and the uncharted waters of social media are skillfully woven into the plot. However, some inconsistencies weaken the overall story: Apart from Connie, the characters are too lightly developed, and some plot points don’t align with earlier events and motivations, making the ultimate revelation a disappointment.
A suspenseful story that starts off with great promise but fails to deliver. (Thriller. 12-18)Pub Date: Dec. 2, 2025
ISBN: 9798217028009
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Nov. 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2026
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
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