Plot and pacing could be tighter, but packed with vivid cultural scenery, this ambitious debut offers readers a journey...
Tess da Costa was believed to work miracles but lost street cred after failing to find Ana, a child abductee; when, months after Tess dies, Ana’s found alive, Tess appears slated for sainthood—unless her sister, Callie, can stop it.
Callie, white and wrapped in grief and anger, has no compassion to spare for Tess’ followers, desperately coping with troubles of their own, or for Tess’ Puerto Rican boyfriend, Danny, whom she recruits in her crusade. Callie’s failing in school and at war with her hospital-receptionist single mom. Her feelings for Tess (and the church) are complicated. If Tess, 17, was the angel, Callie, 16, felt like her demonic twin. Tess’ journal, excerpted throughout, reveals that being cast as saintly was no picnic, either. Not all plot elements mesh neatly. Callie and Danny’s hunt for Ana’s abductor, a plot thread explored partly from Ana’s point of view, has gravitas; however resolved, a child abduction leaves lasting scars. While Callie’s family history takes up a fair chunk of plot real estate, she’s the story’s beating heart—scrappy, resentful, funny, and, above all, observant of her hardscrabble, working-class southeastern Massachusetts town and its denizens. Of Portuguese, Latino, and Irish descent (but not Cape Verdean), with strong cultural and religious (Roman Catholic) immigrant ties, they’ve struggled economically since the mills closed.
Plot and pacing could be tighter, but packed with vivid cultural scenery, this ambitious debut offers readers a journey worth taking. (Fiction. 12-16)Pub Date: March 14, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-399-54525-2
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Dec. 20, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2017
Dark, seductive, but over-the-top: Characters and book alike will enthrall those who choose to play.
Garber returns to the world of bestseller Caraval (2017), this time with the focus on younger, more daring sister Donatella.
Valenda, capital of the empire, is host to the second of Legend’s magical games in a single year, and while Scarlett doesn’t want to play again, blonde Tella is eager for a chance to prove herself. She is haunted by the memory of her death in the last game and by the cursed Deck of Destiny she used as a child which foretold her loveless future. Garber has changed many of the rules of her expanding world, which now appears to be infused with magic and evil Fates. Despite a weak plot and ultraviolet prose (“He tasted like exquisite nightmares and stolen dreams, like the wings of fallen angels, and bottles of fresh moonlight.”), this is a tour de force of imagination. Themes of love, betrayal, and the price of magic (and desire) swirl like Caraval’s enchantments, and Dante’s sensuous kisses will thrill readers as much as they do Tella. The convoluted machinations of the Prince of Hearts (one of the Fates), Legend, and even the empress serve as the impetus for Tella’s story and set up future volumes which promise to go bigger. With descriptions focusing primarily on clothing, characters’ ethnicities are often indeterminate.
Dark, seductive, but over-the-top: Characters and book alike will enthrall those who choose to play. (glossary) (Fantasy. 12-16)Pub Date: May 29, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-250-09531-2
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: March 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An atmospheric and entertaining thriller perfect for snowy night chills.
A group of teens stranded in a snowstorm discovers a murderer in their midst.
While traveling on the highway to a state theater competition, Nell and her friends Min, Raven, Adam, and Jermaine are caught in a dangerous blizzard. Their teacher, Mrs. McElroy, who is driving the minivan, decides to stop for the night at the run-down and shady-looking Travel Inn and Out. The motel is labyrinthine and spooky, with dingy corridors and walls adorned with moldering kitsch. Nell and the gang meet another group of kids who are also stranded by the storm, making fast friends. A game of Two Truths and a Lie starts out flirty and fun but devolves into something more sinister when one slip of paper reads “I like to watch people die,” and “I’ve lost count of how many people I’ve killed.” The snow falls and the winds howl, and soon power and cell service are lost, cutting off the motel patrons from the outside world. As the first victim is discovered and the body count begins to grow, the terror becomes palpable. Everyone at the motel seems to have an insidious secret: Will Nell be able to uncover the killer before they strike again? An homage to Agatha Christie, Henry’s locked-room mystery is tautly plotted, with quick-moving nail-biting chapters, relatable characters, and a deftly wrought setting that paradoxically manages to feel both claustrophobic and sprawling. Nell is White; there is diversity among the secondary characters.
An atmospheric and entertaining thriller perfect for snowy night chills. (Mystery. 12-16)Pub Date: May 24, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-316-32333-8
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Christy Ottaviano Books
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2022
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