A page-turning portrayal of social media gone wrong.
Influencer teens fall under scrutiny when one of them turns up dead.
Life in the Lit Lair, a house where six 17-year-old TikTok stars have been brought together, seems glamorous on the surface: hosting celebrities, gaining lucrative sponsorships, pleasing their millions of followers, and throwing wild parties. Cami, Gwen, Tucker, Kat, Beau, and Sydney seem to have the perfect lives—until the day they find Sydney dead in the pool of their Malibu mansion. Now, with the five of them suddenly suspects, secrets come to light. An affair, slights over corporate partnerships, personal jealousies, and missing money all look like motives to the investigating detectives. Meanwhile, taunting videos about the brutal murder begin appearing on the Lit Lair’s TikTok account, one that only house members have access to. As events unfold, the killer escalates their taunting TikToks, turning up the heat and forcing the housemates to a breaking point. Mystery lovers will enjoy this thrilling narrative that shifts among the perspectives of each housemate as they navigate the tumultuous investigation. Some characters are sketched in more depth than others, but the author’s rapidly unfolding narrative exposes the harsh realities of social media and its possible negative effects on young consumers. Most main characters read as White; Cami is signaled as Latinx, and Kat is cued as biracial (Black/White).
A page-turning portrayal of social media gone wrong. (Mystery. 13-18)Pub Date: Nov. 30, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-42749-1
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Underlined
Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A winning game of feelingsball.
A former football star, who never thought she’d play again after she came out as transgender, steps back onto the field for one last season to help her team win state.
Grace Woodhouse used to know where she belonged. She had Division I schools lined up to recruit her, but that was before what happened during playoffs last year, before she came out as trans, and before she quit the team. Although her single father and new friend group support her, Grace feels lost as her senior year begins. When one of her old teammates asks her to help him with his technique, she quickly realizes that he and the other captains are hoping for more than her expertise from the sidelines—they want her to rejoin the team. Grace can’t resist the opportunity to play again, but her return draws unwanted national attention that makes her question her future and who she wants to be. Flashback chapters written in the second-person present tense bring Grace’s past to life, which helps maintain momentum and makes her emotional journey feel more immersive. A heartfelt, goofy, and diverse cast of secondary characters surround Grace, who’s white, as she navigates self-doubt, friendship, complicated feelings for her ex-girlfriend, and what she wants to do after graduation. Overall, this coming-of-age sports narrative is honest, gentle, and hopeful.
A winning game of feelingsball. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 13, 2025
ISBN: 9781646145027
Page Count: 344
Publisher: Levine Querido
Review Posted Online: March 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025
PERSPECTIVES
A surprise-filled thriller unfolding in an evocatively spooky setting.
Opening night at a new murder-themed amusement park attraction turns into a deadly race against an unknown assailant.
Billie Cooper, a recent high school graduate, has just received a promotion at Californialand, the theme park celebrating her home state where she’s worked for two years. Now she’s a ride operator in Murder Land, a new section inspired by infamous Southern California crimes. But Billie’s first night goes off the rails when a fellow employee dies on her ride. Determined to prove it was natural causes and not her fault, Billie teams up with her friend—and one-time hookup—Leon, her best friend, Grace, and Grace’s girlfriend, Sawyer. Together they uncover disturbing truths about the park’s hidden history. As the events of the night unfold, the stakes rise, and someone else dies. The story includes transcripts from a YouTube series detailing the park’s history and conspiracy theories tied to the property. While some plot points stretch believability, the theme-park setting adds to the intrigue. The diverse cast includes Billie, a queer Jewish protagonist with a rebellious streak, white-presenting Grace, who wants to pursue film studies, Korean Canadian Sawyer, who speaks French and is into hacking, and Leon, who’s queer, cued white, and an engineering student. The atmospheric backdrop sets this work apart from similar stories. Fans of Natasha Preston and Eireann Corrigan will appreciate the fast-paced plot and compelling twists.
A surprise-filled thriller unfolding in an evocatively spooky setting. (map) (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9781464226540
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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