Debate is Tanner’s talent, but is he good enough to succeed at his new school?
If Tanner does well at Bannerman Prep, he has a good chance at getting a scholarship to an elite college. It’s just his luck to land Andrew Tate, or “the Duke,” as everyone calls him, as a debate partner. The Duke does very little in the way of preparation, leaving all the work to Tanner, so Tanner is surprised when they actually perform really well together. The two white teens start to spend more and more time together, along with the rest of the members of the debate team, a couple of whom are described as people of color. But there’s a price to this life, and Tanner, with worries about his overworked mom and disabled younger brother, can’t afford that price. In her debut novel, Nelson offers a contemporary retelling of The Great Gatsby that goes beyond many of the themes of the original novel to make for a spirited look at what happens when a good kid makes some bad choices in a place where consequences don’t always follow. The private school setting is written with an authentic mix of charm and weirdness, although the characters are perhaps overly iconic in their wealthy kid/poor kid roles.
A satisfying examination of morality and the decisions that change our lives. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 9, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5107-1040-5
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Review Posted Online: March 15, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2017
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A gut-wrenching look at how addiction affects a family and a town.
Emory Ward, 16, has long been invisible. Everyone in the town of Mill Haven knows her as the rich girl; her workaholic parents see her as their good child. Then Emory and her 17-year-old brother, Joey, are in a car accident in which a girl dies. Joey wasn’t driving, but he had nearly overdosed on heroin. When Joey returns from rehab, his parents make Emory his keeper and try to corral his addictions with a punitive list of rules. Emory rebels in secret, stealing small items and hooking up with hot neighbor Gage, but her drama class and the friends she gradually begins to be honest with help her reach her own truth. Glasgow, who has personal experience with substance abuse, bases this story on the classic play Our Town but with a twist: The characters learn to see and reach out to each other. The cast members, especially Emory and Joey, are exceptionally well drawn in both their struggles and their joys. Joey’s addiction is horrifying and dark, but it doesn’t define who he is. The portrayal of small-town life and its interconnectedness also rings true. Emory’s family is White; there is racial diversity in the supporting cast, and an important adult mentor is gay. Glasgow mentions in her author’s note that over 20 million Americans struggle with substance abuse; she includes resources for teens seeking help.
Necessary, important, honest, loving, and true. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 28, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-525-70804-9
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021
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PERSPECTIVES
Cracking page-turner with a multiethnic band of misfits with differing sexual orientations who satisfyingly, believably jell...
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Adolescent criminals seek the haul of a lifetime in a fantasyland at the beginning of its industrial age.
The dangerous city of Ketterdam is governed by the Merchant Council, but in reality, large sectors of the city are given over to gangs who run the gambling dens and brothels. The underworld's rising star is 17-year-old Kaz Brekker, known as Dirtyhands for his brutal amorality. Kaz walks with chronic pain from an old injury, but that doesn't stop him from utterly destroying any rivals. When a councilman offers him an unimaginable reward to rescue a kidnapped foreign chemist—30 million kruge!—Kaz knows just the team he needs to assemble. There's Inej, an itinerant acrobat captured by slavers and sold to a brothel, now a spy for Kaz; the Grisha Nina, with the magical ability to calm and heal; Matthias the zealot, hunter of Grishas and caught in a hopeless spiral of love and vengeance with Nina; Wylan, the privileged boy with an engineer's skills; and Jesper, a sharpshooter who keeps flirting with Wylan. Bardugo broadens the universe she created in the Grisha Trilogy, sending her protagonists around countries that resemble post-Renaissance northern Europe, where technology develops in concert with the magic that's both coveted and despised. It’s a highly successful venture, leaving enough open questions to cause readers to eagerly await Volume 2.
Cracking page-turner with a multiethnic band of misfits with differing sexual orientations who satisfyingly, believably jell into a family . (Fantasy. 14 & up)Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-62779-212-7
Page Count: 480
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2015
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