Gripping, thrilling, Machiavellian.
A high school sophomore discovers revenge comes with a price.
When Ember Williams entered Heller High, she had a particular goal in mind: to join the Red Court, a powerful secret organization with a track record for, among other things, influencing student elections, altering grades, and spreading slander. Carrying out these actions doesn’t cost money but instead leaves the requester indebted, with a favor that can be called in at the Red Court’s whim. Ember’s invitation finally comes, setting in motion her four-step plan to take down the Queen of Hearts—the group’s leader—and dismantle the organization as revenge for an accident the Court caused that left her sister, April, paralyzed. At first, her missions seem relatively mild—posing for a picture to incite a breakup or leaving notes to request favors from indebted students—and they even lead to a budding relationship with Chase Merriman, a know-it-all with whom Ember competes to be top of their class. However, the missions soon escalate, affecting those closest to her—like her best friend, Gideon—and as Ember learns more about her sister’s accident, she begins to reevaluate both her intentions and her decision to stay in the Court. Laurin’s novel tackles the destructive power of high school bullying through characters who are compelling in their complexity; their deceitfulness is often a means of survival. Most characters are White by default; Gideon is gay and biracial (White/Korean).
Gripping, thrilling, Machiavellian. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-335-14587-1
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
A light and entertaining plot-driven romance.
A Connecticut girl and her best friend devise a series of plans in order to achieve their goals: following a dream and winning back an ex.
Eighteen-year-old Audrey Barbour has a Master Plan: attend Blue Ridge Glass School in North Carolina and someday turn her Etsy shop, Golightly Glass, into a thriving business. But her uber-wealthy parents insist that she instead follow in their footsteps and go to business school. So Audrey decides to go find the tuition money she needs with help from her best friend, Henry Chen. Henry needs a favor, too: He hopes that fake dating Audrey will help him win back his ex-girlfriend, and he points out to a reluctant Audrey that this could make her crush, Griffin, notice her. While Audrey’s parents vacation in France for three weeks, the pair rent out the Barbour mansion on the Long Island Sound. Soon romantic chemistry grows alongside their business partnership. Despite the pair’s great preparation and an abundance of secondary characters with connections and talents to help pull off their increasingly ambitious ideas, plans go awry, leaving Audrey and Henry scrambling and second-guessing their choices. The pacing is even, but the characters often take a back seat to the whirlwind of activity that drives the plot, with the emphasis falling on each person’s practical skills and their role in keeping the action moving over their emotional bonds. Audrey is white, and Henry’s surname cues him as Chinese American.
A light and entertaining plot-driven romance. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: March 31, 2026
ISBN: 9780593904794
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Delacorte Romance
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Exhilarating, nonstop fun.
A murder on The Escape Game, a popular reality TV show, puts the next round of contestants at risk—can they all get out alive?
The previous season of the show, in which groups of teens race to get through escape rooms, ended in disaster when Sierra Angelos and her team discovered another player lying dead in a coffin—her older sister, Alicia. But the network and ruthless executive producer determine that the show will go on. Prickly, olive-skinned Sierra, whom some suspect of murder, is returning—and she’s determined to find the killer. Her new team includes math whiz Carter Kelly, who’s Black; home-schooled, white-presenting Beck Matheson, who designs his own escape rooms and is trans; and Aditya Parvesh, who’s cued South Asian, has a way with words, and was pushed into auditioning by his movie star mother. At first, Team Helsing struggles to gel, but the teens’ shared desire to prove themselves makes them a formidable powerhouse—even if they’re hiding some of their true goals from one another. As clues to the killer’s identity start appearing, the players must try to make it to the finale before someone else becomes the next victim. This thrilling whodunit moves at a page-turning pace; the occasional reveals for the main mystery are well balanced with the tighter sequences of solving the escape rooms. The narration rotates among the central cast, allowing readers to empathize with each character in turn and be privy to even more intrigue.
Exhilarating, nonstop fun. (Mystery. 14-18)Pub Date: April 7, 2026
ISBN: 9798217006120
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Dec. 26, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2026
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