A murder mystery with much to say about modern-day segregation, policing, and personal biases.
Social commentary set against the backdrop of the murder of a Mississippi town’s first Black homecoming queen.
Nova Albright is gorgeous, charitable, and a shoo-in for homecoming queen. She’s also the target of Tinsley McArthur’s vitriol, as the title of queen has been in Tinsley’s White family for generations. When Nova ultimately wins, Tinsley unleashes a drunken tirade and threatens to kill her in a rant that one of Tinsley’s best friends records on her phone. The next morning, Nova is found dead in the Sacred Hearts Slave Cemetery, a neighborhood site she spent her spare time maintaining. All signs point to Tinsley as the culprit, but the investigation isn’t progressing fast enough for Duchess Simmons, a Black girl who is Nova’s best friend and the daughter of the town’s police chief. As Duchess takes matters into her own hands in an attempt to get to the bottom of Nova’s demise, Tinsley believes that the only way she can clear her name is by finding the actual murderer. But both girls quickly realize they’re in over their heads as they unearth truths about race, family secrets, and trauma during their investigations. The twisty, tragic plot at this story’s center is shocking and effective overall but too often becomes encumbered by heavy-handed commentary and dialogue that doesn’t sound like natural teenage speech.
A murder mystery with much to say about modern-day segregation, policing, and personal biases. (Mystery. 14-18)Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-56854-5
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression.
After surviving a suicide attempt, a fragile teen isn't sure she can endure without cutting herself.
Seventeen-year-old Charlie Davis, a white girl living on the margins, thinks she has little reason to live: her father drowned himself; her bereft and abusive mother kicked her out; her best friend, Ellis, is nearly brain dead after cutting too deeply; and she's gone through unspeakable experiences living on the street. After spending time in treatment with other young women like her—who cut, burn, poke, and otherwise hurt themselves—Charlie is released and takes a bus from the Twin Cities to Tucson to be closer to Mikey, a boy she "like-likes" but who had pined for Ellis instead. But things don't go as planned in the Arizona desert, because sweet Mikey just wants to be friends. Feeling rejected, Charlie, an artist, is drawn into a destructive new relationship with her sexy older co-worker, a "semifamous" local musician who's obviously a junkie alcoholic. Through intense, diarylike chapters chronicling Charlie's journey, the author captures the brutal and heartbreaking way "girls who write their pain on their bodies" scar and mar themselves, either succumbing or surviving. Like most issue books, this is not an easy read, but it's poignant and transcendent as Charlie breaks more and more before piecing herself back together.
This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression. (author’s note) (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-101-93471-5
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2016
A treat for mystery readers who enjoy being kept in suspense.
Everyone believes that Salil Singh killed his girlfriend, Andrea Bell, five years ago—except Pippa Fitz-Amobi.
Pip has known and liked Sal since childhood; he’d supported her when she was being bullied in middle school. For her senior capstone project, Pip researches the disappearance of former Fairview High student Andie, last seen on April 18, 2014, by her younger sister, Becca. The original investigation concluded with most of the evidence pointing to Sal, who was found dead in the woods, apparently by suicide. Andie’s body was never recovered, and Sal was assumed by most to be guilty of abduction and murder. Unable to ignore the gaps in the case, Pip sets out to prove Sal’s innocence, beginning with interviewing his younger brother, Ravi. With his help, Pip digs deeper, unveiling unsavory facts about Andie and the real reason Sal’s friends couldn’t provide him with an alibi. But someone is watching, and Pip may be in more danger than she realizes. Pip’s sleuthing is both impressive and accessible. Online articles about the case and interview transcripts are provided throughout, and Pip’s capstone logs offer insights into her thought processes as new evidence and suspects arise. Jackson’s debut is well-executed and surprises readers with a connective web of interesting characters and motives. Pip and Andie are white, and Sal is of Indian descent.
A treat for mystery readers who enjoy being kept in suspense. (Mystery. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-9636-0
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
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