A dark story filled with unexpected twists and turns and featuring a strong young protagonist.
A YA thriller tells the story of a teenager’s struggle to overcome trauma and her desire to embark on a new life.
Sunday Foster is a quiet, bookish 16-year old who has a boyfriend named Jack and a crush on Tyler, an older co-worker at the courthouse where she has a part-time job. Her sometimes-abusive parents, whom she thinks of only as “HE” and “SHE,” mostly ignore her; her brother died shortly before she was born. She has a plan to get into a good college, live with her boyfriend, and move on with her life, but her plans change after Tyler sexually assaults her. Afterward, she fears that she’s pregnant, and she enlists her shy, frequently bullied neighbor, Amir, to help her carry out a new plan of “pseudocide”: faking her death, adopting an entirely new identity, and leaving everything behind her. She plans to enact the scheme the week after the big school trip, but then a catastrophe occurs that speeds up her timeline. Under her new name, she makes her way to Las Vegas and finds out that a person she thought was her friend may have a dark side. Throughout this novel, Smith presents her protagonist with empathy; Sunday makes mistakes that are relatable and realistic, and her struggles as she finds her way in Vegas effectively get across how dangerous and difficult it can be to go it alone when one is young. Although the novel tackles such heavy issues as gun violence and sexual assault, the author treats the topics with the gravitas that they deserve, showing respect for her audience. This tense tale will keep readers on edge until its surprising finale.
A dark story filled with unexpected twists and turns and featuring a strong young protagonist.Pub Date: June 30, 2021
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Books With Soul
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
BOOK REVIEW
A powerful story of family, belonging, and identity interlaced with thriller elements.
A wary teen wonders if she should run when people come looking for her.
Lucy Smith was raised by her white father, who said little about her mother. Following his death and her stepmother’s abandonment, Lucy entered the foster care system at 14. Her stepmother revealed that Lucy’s birth mom was Native American, but her social worker urged her to keep that quiet. Battered by her time in the foster care system, it’s no wonder that 18-year-old Lucy is cautious when she’s approached by a man who says he’s an attorney who helps Native American foster kids connect with their families and communities. He introduces her to a friend who reveals to Lucy that she knows her Ojibwe maternal relatives—but a wary Lucy refuses her offer to learn more. Someone is stalking her, after all, and the FBI is investigating the bomb that went off in the diner where she worked—an event she’s sure targeted her. This stand-alone from bestseller Boulley, who’s an enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, includes characters her fans will recognize from previous works. The action scenes are mediated by ruminations on the failings of the foster care system and strong portrayals of Lucy’s relationship with her father and her complicated identity. Ardent book lover Lucy is a sympathetic narrator whose strong sense of justice is coupled with a deep acceptance of others.
A powerful story of family, belonging, and identity interlaced with thriller elements. (content warning, author’s note) (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2025
ISBN: 9781250328533
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
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