Thrills and mystery from a pro.
A girl living in a depressed coal mining town finds a wealthy boy in the woods who has been savagely beaten, then searches for him when he disappears.
Winter Crane intends to escape both her alcoholic father and her trailer-park life in the largely white Appalachian community of Reeve’s End. On a hunting trip, she finds Lennon unconscious in the woods. She fashions a makeshift stretcher for him and drags him back to her tiny hunting shack, where he tells her he knows her friend Edie, but Edie’s missing. Then Lennon disappears. With Jude, Lennon’s older brother, Winter embarks on a quest to find him and to investigate what has happened to the many young people who have left Reeve’s End. The search takes the partners to the boys’ wealthy parents’ home, where she’s accosted. The plot thickens even further when Winter finds the body of another missing Reeve’s End young man. Unable to count on the incompetent local police, Winter and Jude find themselves in several dangerous situations as they clamber through abandoned mines and the like. Complicating the situation is a pack of menacing feral dogs that roams the area. Characterizations ring true, especially that of Winter, who dreams of becoming a doctor. Armstrong develops a possible romance between Winter and Jude even as she pursues her mystery plot. As it thickens, and the danger turns into a serious life-or-death threat, the narrative easily holds readers’ interest.
Thrills and mystery from a pro. (Suspense. 14-18)Pub Date: April 18, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-399-55032-4
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2017
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes.
The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.
Paedyn Gray witnessed the king kill her father five years ago, and she’s been thieving and sleeping rough ever since, all while faking Psychic abilities. When she inadvertently saves the life of Prince Kai, she becomes embroiled in the Purging Trials, a competition to commemorate the sickness that killed most of the kingdom’s Ordinaries. Kai’s duties as the future Enforcer include eradicating any remaining Ordinaries, and these Trials are his chance to prove that he’s internalized his brutal training. But Kai can’t help but find Pae’s blue eyes, silver hair, and unabashed attitude enchanting. She likewise struggles to resist his stormy gray eyes, dark hair, and rakish behavior, even as they’re pitted against each other in the Trials and by the king himself. Scenes and concepts that are strongly reminiscent of the Hunger Games fall flat: They aren’t bolstered by the original’s heart or worldbuilding logic that would have justified a few extreme story elements. Illogical leaps and inconsistent characterizations abound, with lighthearted romantic interludes juxtaposed against genocide, child abuse, and sadism. These elements, which are not sufficiently addressed, combined with the use of ableist language, cannot be erased by any amount of romantic banter. Main characters are cued white; the supporting cast has some brown-skinned characters.
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9798987380406
Page Count: 538
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
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