Deft, page-turning, and fresh as the latest college admissions gossip.
Ripped from the headlines of the 2019 Varsity Blues admissions scandal.
Seventeen-year-old Chloe Berringer is the wealthy, white daughter of Joy Fields, beloved TV sitcom star. An indifferent student, Chloe attends private school and is stunned by the revelation that her entire application was doctored. Chloe wrestles with guilt, shame, anger, brutal social media responses, and frayed family relationships following the revelation of her parents’ cheating and bribery. The intersections of race, class, and privilege are explored primarily through Chloe’s relationship with her best friend, Shola, a Nigerian American girl on scholarship at the school. The chapters alternate between the present day, beginning when her mother is arrested, and the point leading up to the arrest, starting three weeks into her senior year. Knowing that there were dozens of real-life students coping with similar crimes and the deep betrayal of their trust in their parents makes Chloe’s tale both heartbreaking and thought-provoking. Believable subplots focus on her love interest (a biracial Asian Indian/white boy), undocumented immigrants (through Chloe’s mentoring of a young El Salvadoran boy), and the pain of drug addiction (through her older half brother). While not entirely one-dimensional, supporting characters who do not share Chloe's racial and financial privilege sometimes seem to be present as devices to support her awakening.
Deft, page-turning, and fresh as the latest college admissions gossip. (Fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-984893-62-8
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
A nonstop thrill ride through an eerily claustrophobic setting.
A secret party in the Paris catacombs sounds like the experience of a lifetime—until you’re lost in the tunnels of the dead.
Ruby has been looking forward to her French class trip to Paris for ages; she’s especially excited to explore locations for her YouTube channel, “Ruby’s Hidden Gems.” When her adventurous bestie, Val, sneaks off to meet up with a handsome stranger, Ruby follows, accompanied by former BFF Selena and class valedictorian Olivia. The four girls trustingly follow the mysterious Julien into the Paris catacombs for an illegal cataphile party, but they all end up lost. Aboveground, Ruby’s other best friend (and crush) Sean and Selena’s girlfriend, Aliyah, help the police search for the missing teens. Underground, Ruby, Val, Selena, and Olivia confront the fractures in their friendships and struggle to find their way out. But wait—did some of the bones just come to life? From teen drama to suffocating nightmares, this book takes readers through twists and turns in the maze of tunnels beneath Paris. Urban’s prose is absorbing, leading readers through frightening scenes at a breakneck pace. Ruby’s narration of her harrowing journey is fast-paced and exciting. Sean’s chapters, which focus on his attempts to assist with the rescue, unfortunately distract from the far more compelling story playing out underground. The lead characters are white; Selena reads Latine, and Aliyah is cued Black.
A nonstop thrill ride through an eerily claustrophobic setting. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780593625088
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2024
PERSPECTIVES
An enticing, turbulent, and satisfying final voyage.
Adrian, the youngest of the Montague siblings, sails into tumultuous waters in search of answers about himself, the sudden death of his mother, and her mysterious, cracked spyglass.
On the summer solstice less than a year ago, Caroline Montague fell off a cliff in Aberdeen into the sea. When the Scottish hostel where she was staying sends a box of her left-behind belongings to London, Adrian—an anxious, White nobleman on the cusp of joining Parliament—discovers one of his mother’s most treasured possessions, an antique spyglass. She acquired it when she was the sole survivor of a shipwreck many years earlier. His mother always carried that spyglass with her, but on the day of her death, she had left it behind in her room. Although he never knew its full significance, Adrian is haunted by new questions and is certain the spyglass will lead him to the truth. Once again, Lee crafts an absorbing adventure with dangerous stakes, dynamic character growth, sharp social and political commentary, and a storm of emotion. Inseparable from his external search for answers about his mother, Adrian seeks a solution for himself, an end to his struggle with mental illness—a journey handled with hopeful, gentle honesty that validates the experiences of both good and bad days. Characters from the first two books play significant secondary roles, and the resolution ties up their loose ends. Humorous antics provide a well-measured balance with the heavier themes.
An enticing, turbulent, and satisfying final voyage. (Historical fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-291601-3
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2021
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