A promising premise marred by heavy-handed execution.
A reality show turns deadly as young people scramble to escape a nightmare town.
Having survived a mass shooting one year ago, Mercy Gray is tougher than the bullet fragment that’s still lodged in her back. She plans to use that grit to win one of the $100,000 prizes offered by eccentric tech billionaire Damien Dare, who’s determined to test his theories about what makes someone a survivor. Mercy and seven other contestants, all between 18 and 20, arrive in Landry’s Gap, a deserted wilderness town Dare bought specifically for the TV show, Who Survives. Each bears scars from a trauma that still haunts them. The rules are simple—complete a series of challenges; everyone who makes it to the end wins the cash. But when the first contestant turns up dead, the remaining players—the only people in the town—are left wondering who can be trusted. Marshall’s fans will appreciate that in Mercy she serves up another one of her signature stoic, slightly awkward girl protagonists who manage to be both resilient and fragile. The narrative tackles misogyny with mixed success; one character’s backstory feels realistically insightful, while another plotline comes across as forced. Mercy’s inner voice, as she wrestles with self-doubt, feels inconsistent. Disappointingly, the major plot twist is so obvious that even readers with little experience of the genre may anticipate the ending. Mercy is white, and there’s diversity in race and gender identity in the supporting cast.
A promising premise marred by heavy-handed execution. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: July 29, 2025
ISBN: 9780593691830
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: April 19, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2025
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.
A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.
Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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