No slow burn here—this extreme homeward-bound tale thrills.
A long drive home goes drastically wrong in this dramatic survival novel.
After a visit to her Oregon dream college, California senior Lily finds her return travel plans derailed by a wildfire. Enter erstwhile best friend Natasha, who just happens to be in Portland; through the girls’ moms, she knows Lily needs a ride. The small talk is tense but tolerable—until Natasha unexpectedly picks up Elke in Eugene. Elke was expelled from middle school thanks to Lily, which led to the rift in Lily’s relationship with Natasha. Even with the wildfire encroaching, Natasha and Elke insist on stopping for doughnuts. When Natasha hits a motorcycle in the parking lot and they drive off, the enraged biker pursues them deep into the forest. Readers learn this was all a ploy by Natasha and Elke to scare Lily (the motorcyclist is in on it): payback for what happened in eighth grade. But the wildfire is tearing through the forest, setting the teens up for a night that will test their mettle, force them to rely on each other, and perhaps even rebuild their old bonds. The monster here is an increasingly common environmental threat. The breathless writing, with most chapters ending in cliffhangers, feels appropriate, creating a sense that the air has been sucked from the room. The peril the teens endure makes the saccharine ending a cleansing sigh of relief. Main characters read white.
No slow burn here—this extreme homeward-bound tale thrills. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781728256795
Page Count: 344
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A treat for mystery readers who enjoy being kept in suspense.
Everyone believes that Salil Singh killed his girlfriend, Andrea Bell, five years ago—except Pippa Fitz-Amobi.
Pip has known and liked Sal since childhood; he’d supported her when she was being bullied in middle school. For her senior capstone project, Pip researches the disappearance of former Fairview High student Andie, last seen on April 18, 2014, by her younger sister, Becca. The original investigation concluded with most of the evidence pointing to Sal, who was found dead in the woods, apparently by suicide. Andie’s body was never recovered, and Sal was assumed by most to be guilty of abduction and murder. Unable to ignore the gaps in the case, Pip sets out to prove Sal’s innocence, beginning with interviewing his younger brother, Ravi. With his help, Pip digs deeper, unveiling unsavory facts about Andie and the real reason Sal’s friends couldn’t provide him with an alibi. But someone is watching, and Pip may be in more danger than she realizes. Pip’s sleuthing is both impressive and accessible. Online articles about the case and interview transcripts are provided throughout, and Pip’s capstone logs offer insights into her thought processes as new evidence and suspects arise. Jackson’s debut is well-executed and surprises readers with a connective web of interesting characters and motives. Pip and Andie are white, and Sal is of Indian descent.
A treat for mystery readers who enjoy being kept in suspense. (Mystery. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-9636-0
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
A lukewarm thriller.
In England, a group of teenagers tries to stay alive when a long weekend in an abandoned castle goes wrong.
When Bessie and her friends decide to join a party their classmate Allegra is throwing in her family’s abandoned castle before it’s converted into apartments, they think the biggest issues they’ll face are making it there before a big storm hits and keeping their plans secret from their parents and teachers. Once they arrive at the castle, however, Bessie and best friend Kashvi discover menacing graffiti and evidence that someone has been staying in the cellar. They also learn that protestors from the nearby village are angry about the development plans for the castle—one of them even argues that it would be better to burn it down. A handful of classmates manage to get there before the storm gets too severe. But when the teens wake up the next day to discover one of their own dead, and the storm makes it impossible for them to leave, they quickly realize that they’re in danger. But is the killer one of the members of the Facebook protestors’ group…or one of their own? Despite the book’s intriguing setup, the prose is dominated by repetitive conversations that convey little substance. Still, readers may still find themselves propelled forward by a need to discover the identity of the murderer. The central cast is racially diverse.
A lukewarm thriller. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Dec. 3, 2024
ISBN: 9780593704080
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
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