A disappointing attempt to breathe new life into a classic.
Three teen psychics attempt to uncover the supernatural mystery of Elias Thornfield and Fairfax Hall in this modern reimagining of Jane Eyre.
Jane Reye is utterly and effectively alone. Without anything—or anyone—in her life to keep her in Indiana, she accepts a job investigating the strange happenings at Fairfax Hall in Derbyshire, England. Jane is no stranger to the supernatural given her ability to use her art to see spirits. Alongside hunky telepath Giovanni and tarot reader Ingrid, Jane attempts to deal with the strange entity that Elias is desperate to be rid of. Her relationship with Elias continues to develop, and she soon realizes his entanglement with the malicious being is more complicated than he first let on. More truths are revealed even as time is running out, and as the stakes get more serious, Jane becomes willing to do anything to save Elias. Though the premise promises something new, the execution doesn’t deliver. The story starts slowly and never takes off, always seemingly at the precipice of action that just fizzles into the next plot point. The pop-culture one-liners seem intended to inject a humorous undertone, but they don’t ring true. Readers will long for deeper development of the relationships to make the closeness by the end feel earned. Characters are cued White.
A disappointing attempt to breathe new life into a classic. (Paranormal. 14-18)Pub Date: Aug. 22, 2023
ISBN: 9780593116081
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2023
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter.
After a Nigerian British girl goes off to an exclusive boarding school that seems to prey on less-privileged students, she discovers there might be some truth behind an urban legend.
Ife Adebola joins the Urban Achievers scholarship program at pricey, high-pressure Nithercott School, arriving shortly after a student called Leon mysteriously disappeared. Gossip says he’s a victim of the glowing-eyed Changing Man who targets the lonely, leaving them changed. Ife doesn’t believe in the myth, but amid the stresses of Nithercott’s competitive, privileged, majority-white environment, where she is constantly reminded of her state school background, she does miss her friends and family. When Malika, a fellow Black scholarship student, disappears and then returns, acting strangely devoid of personality, Ife worries the Changing Man is real—and that she’s next. Ife joins forces with classmate Bijal and Benny, Leon’s younger brother, to uncover the truth about who the Changing Man is and what he wants. Culminating in a detailed, gory, and extended climactic battle, this verbose thriller tempts readers with a nefarious mystery involving racial and class-based violence but never quite lives up to its potential and peters out thematically by its explosive finale. However, this debut offers highly visually evocative and eerie descriptions of characters and events and will appeal to fans of creature horror, social commentary, and dark academia.
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781250868138
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: June 8, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
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
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