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DON'T LET IN THE COLD

Comfortingly familiar page-turning suspense.

A Tahoe blizzard is the setting of Parrack’s debut.

Seventeen-year-old Lottie, a White English girl who’s been repeatedly let down by her flighty Mum, isn’t happy about spending the night alone in a remote cabin with her quiet, nature-loving new stepsister, 15-year-old Black American Jade, while their parents go on their honeymoon. They’ve only met three times before and haven’t exactly clicked. Then again, it’s only one night. How bad could it be? Then the power goes out and the stranger arrives. Alex, described generically as Asian, is tall and charming and claims to have lost his way—he’s just a boy walking his dog. However, his story is full of holes, and before long Lottie suspects he’s hiding something. Just as she confronts him, a fire breaks out in the cabin, and Lottie, Jade, and Alex are forced out into the cold and snow with only each other to rely on; one night on their own turns into a dayslong struggle for survival. It’s unfortunate that encounters with a bear, a mountain lion, and an avalanche are nothing compared to the human threat stalking them through the wild white wilderness. Lottie’s first-person narration is generic, but the action is fast-paced, with just enough romantic tension between Lottie and Alex to keep it interesting, while the tentative nature of Lottie and Jade’s new sister relationship fades quickly as they learn to rely on and appreciate each other.

Comfortingly familiar page-turning suspense. (Thriller. 13-17)

Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022

ISBN: 978-1-72825-676-4

Page Count: 320

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Review Posted Online: May 24, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2022

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BEMUSED

A thrilling quest through real and metaphorical mazes, obstacles, and trials.

Five sisters learn they have hidden powers that might help them save their mother from danger.

Mnemosyne is the Goddess of Memory, a Titan who was granted asylum on Mount Olympus by Zeus after the Titan war. But Mnemosyne, who has bronze skin and black hair, eventually fled Olympus, wiping the gods’ memories so she could start her own family in safety. She created five daughters: gifted storyteller and leader Calliope, inquisitive history buff Clio, volatile empath Melpomene, magical dancer Terpsichore, and gifted comedian Thalia. Mnemosyne successfully keeps their existence hidden from the gods until the girls stage a public birthday performance for her. As Mnemosyne hurriedly explains the danger the girls are in, she’s kidnapped by Pain and Panic, two minions of Hades, God of the Underworld. The sisters must now put aside their differences to use their unique strengths and their mother’s special journal to ask the very gods their mother fears for help. A nice exploration of lesser-known female figures from Greek mythology, this tale features a fine balance of self-actualization and connections among the central characters, each of whom has a distinct temperament and narrative. The dramatis personae and pronunciation key will also make it easier for readers to distinguish the different cast members.

A thrilling quest through real and metaphorical mazes, obstacles, and trials. (Fantasy. 13-17)

Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025

ISBN: 9781368098700

Page Count: 352

Publisher: Disney Press

Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2024

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DRY

Mouths have never run so dry at the idea of thirst.

When a calamitous drought overtakes southern California, a group of teens must struggle to keep their lives and their humanity in this father-son collaboration.

When the Tap-Out hits and the state’s entire water supply runs dry, 16-year-old Alyssa Morrow and her little brother, Garrett, ration their Gatorade and try to be optimistic. That is, until their parents disappear, leaving them completely alone. Their neighbor Kelton McCracken was born into a survivalist family, but what use is that when it’s his family he has to survive? Kelton is determined to help Alyssa and Garrett, but with desperation comes danger, and he must lead them and two volatile new acquaintances on a perilous trek to safety and water. Occasionally interrupted by “snapshots” of perspectives outside the main plot, the narrative’s intensity steadily rises as self-interest turns deadly and friends turn on each other. No one does doom like Neal Shusterman (Thunderhead, 2018, etc.)—the breathtakingly jagged brink of apocalypse is only overshadowed by the sense that his dystopias lie just below the surface of readers’ fragile reality, a few thoughtless actions away. He and his debut novelist son have crafted a world of dark thirst and fiery desperation, which, despite the tendrils of hope that thread through the conclusion, feels alarmingly near to our future. There is an absence of racial markers, leaving characters’ identities open.

Mouths have never run so dry at the idea of thirst. (Thriller. 13-17)

Pub Date: Oct. 2, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-4814-8196-0

Page Count: 400

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: July 16, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2018

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