The real world proves more frightening than ghosts in this fast-paced, female-driven story.
Haunted girls reclaim their narratives in this modern take on a gothic novel.
When scandal drives her out of Manhattan, Bram Howland goes to stay with her Uncle James. He lives in a grand mansion in a small Hudson Valley town where outsiders are despised and local lore about the so-called “Dead Girls” leads many to believe the house is cursed. Recently, a fire destroyed part of it, killing Uncle James’ second wife. Although officially ruled an accident, James believes his stepdaughter, Lark, who is now in a mental hospital, started the fire after becoming fixated on a girl who once lived in the manor and drowned herself. Bram knows what it’s like to be silenced and not trusted, and she expects that Lark was saner than rumors say: She’s determined to find the truth even as strange, eerie happenings occur and she finds herself in danger. The book opens during a blizzard and succeeds in maintaining a moody, unsettling atmosphere throughout the straightforward, plot-driven story. Some characterization is thin, and Bram’s history with drug abuse and rehab feels underexplored. However, the novel is thematically rich, encouraging readers to question the crazy-woman trope and showcasing women’s fortitude against all odds. Twists abound, and numerous plot threads are satisfyingly tied together in the powerful ending. All main characters are White by default.
The real world proves more frightening than ghosts in this fast-paced, female-driven story. (Paranormal. 14-18)Pub Date: Jan. 26, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-525-58120-8
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2020
Exhilarating, nonstop fun.
A murder on The Escape Game, a popular reality TV show, puts the next round of contestants at risk—can they all get out alive?
The previous season of the show, in which groups of teens race to get through escape rooms, ended in disaster when Sierra Angelos and her team discovered another player lying dead in a coffin—her older sister, Alicia. But the network and ruthless executive producer determine that the show will go on. Prickly, olive-skinned Sierra, whom some suspect of murder, is returning—and she’s determined to find the killer. Her new team includes math whiz Carter Kelly, who’s Black; home-schooled, white-presenting Beck Matheson, who designs his own escape rooms and is trans; and Aditya Parvesh, who’s cued South Asian, has a way with words, and was pushed into auditioning by his movie star mother. At first, Team Helsing struggles to gel, but the teens’ shared desire to prove themselves makes them a formidable powerhouse—even if they’re hiding some of their true goals from one another. As clues to the killer’s identity start appearing, the players must try to make it to the finale before someone else becomes the next victim. This thrilling whodunit moves at a page-turning pace; the occasional reveals for the main mystery are well balanced with the tighter sequences of solving the escape rooms. The narration rotates among the central cast, allowing readers to empathize with each character in turn and be privy to even more intrigue.
Exhilarating, nonstop fun. (Mystery. 14-18)Pub Date: April 7, 2026
ISBN: 9798217006120
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Dec. 26, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2026
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
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