This winning, character-driven supernatural thriller features a multilayered adolescent hero.
A teen’s new, otherworldly handbag compels her to investigate a missing persons case in Baer’s YA mystery.
High school sophomore Libby Dawson lives by herself in an Ashton, Ohio, apartment. Her mother stays with a rich boyfriend (who’s unaware she has a daughter) and gives Libby just enough money to survive. While perusing her favorite thrift store with best friend Toni Moore, Libby scores a retro tote-bag-sized denim purse. It’s big enough to carry quite a lot; the only problem is that things she puts in the purse often disappear. They pop up again eventually, as do items she’s never seen before, like a perfume bottle and an old photograph. Curious, Libby tries identifying a girl in the photo and discovers she’s been missing for 20 years. As the purse continues providing clues, Libby digs deeper and soon suspects that someone in Ashton has made sure this girl disappeared. Is Libby now putting herself in danger? Baer’s supernatural premise kicks off an absorbing whodunit and enhances the narrative’s sense of melodrama. (The purse stirs up problems in Libby’s personal life as it vanishes her homework and angers people when some items that disappear aren’t hers.) Libby is a dynamic, sympathetic protagonist; her callous mother treats her like an inconvenience, but she tells no one, not even Toni, that she’s living alone. The teen immerses herself in a sublime mystery that complements, without overshadowing, her own story. She impressively researches, does the footwork, and identifies a suspect or two, as the missing girl seemingly finds a way to communicate with Libby via objects that suddenly appear in the purse. While it’s true that Libby is mature and responsible, she also struggles with self-esteem, and it’s genuinely rewarding to see her build up her confidence (“My same old Libby. I liked the sound of that”) as the tautly-written tale rolls along.
This winning, character-driven supernatural thriller features a multilayered adolescent hero.Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2025
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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
A powerful story of family, belonging, and identity interlaced with thriller elements.
A wary teen wonders if she should run when people come looking for her.
Lucy Smith was raised by her white father, who said little about her mother. Following his death and her stepmother’s abandonment, Lucy entered the foster care system at 14. Her stepmother revealed that Lucy’s birth mom was Native American, but her social worker urged her to keep that quiet. Battered by her time in the foster care system, it’s no wonder that 18-year-old Lucy is cautious when she’s approached by a man who says he’s an attorney who helps Native American foster kids connect with their families and communities. He introduces her to a friend who reveals to Lucy that she knows her Ojibwe maternal relatives—but a wary Lucy refuses her offer to learn more. Someone is stalking her, after all, and the FBI is investigating the bomb that went off in the diner where she worked—an event she’s sure targeted her. This stand-alone from bestseller Boulley, who’s an enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, includes characters her fans will recognize from previous works. The action scenes are mediated by ruminations on the failings of the foster care system and strong portrayals of Lucy’s relationship with her father and her complicated identity. Ardent book lover Lucy is a sympathetic narrator whose strong sense of justice is coupled with a deep acceptance of others.
A powerful story of family, belonging, and identity interlaced with thriller elements. (content warning, author’s note) (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2025
ISBN: 9781250328533
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
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