Three New Jersey teens and a semisenile senior citizen, all grieving family losses, take a road trip to Graceland.
All four are devastated, vulnerable, and looking for ways beyond therapy groups to ease the pain. Henry seizes the chance to carry his beloved wife’s ashes to Memphis, and Sloane comes along to steal and ride a Harley down Beale Street wearing her father’s leather jacket. Will’s motives are less defined until the sight of a group of young cancer patients outside St. Jude’s helps him with the gnawing loss of his little brother to neuroblastoma. Unlikely as it seems, readers may end up rooting for 17-year-old cyberstalker Asher, who narrates in snarky, Holden Caulfield–style sentences. Asher is catfishing Grace, the daughter of the drunk driver who killed his mother—and plans to murder Grace’s dad. (Though set up to be a victim, Grace turns out to be a redoubtable scene-stealer and one of the book’s best surprises.) So overwhelming is the load of trauma they each carry that it’s hard to see how their journey could end on a buoyant note, but Reilly pulls it off by developing rich friendships while artfully slipping in comical elements on the way to a climactic whirl of laughter, tears, budding romance, and well-placed insights. Not to mention references throughout to Kierkegaard, The Little Prince, stages of grief, and coping strategies like self-forgiveness. The cast presents White.
A heady round trip, heavy baggage and all, from heartbreak to healing. (Fiction. 13-17)Pub Date: Aug. 23, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-66590-228-1
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022
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When a calamitous drought overtakes southern California, a group of teens must struggle to keep their lives and their humanity in this father-son collaboration.
When the Tap-Out hits and the state’s entire water supply runs dry, 16-year-old Alyssa Morrow and her little brother, Garrett, ration their Gatorade and try to be optimistic. That is, until their parents disappear, leaving them completely alone. Their neighbor Kelton McCracken was born into a survivalist family, but what use is that when it’s his family he has to survive? Kelton is determined to help Alyssa and Garrett, but with desperation comes danger, and he must lead them and two volatile new acquaintances on a perilous trek to safety and water. Occasionally interrupted by “snapshots” of perspectives outside the main plot, the narrative’s intensity steadily rises as self-interest turns deadly and friends turn on each other. No one does doom like Neal Shusterman (Thunderhead, 2018, etc.)—the breathtakingly jagged brink of apocalypse is only overshadowed by the sense that his dystopias lie just below the surface of readers’ fragile reality, a few thoughtless actions away. He and his debut novelist son have crafted a world of dark thirst and fiery desperation, which, despite the tendrils of hope that thread through the conclusion, feels alarmingly near to our future. There is an absence of racial markers, leaving characters’ identities open.
Mouths have never run so dry at the idea of thirst. (Thriller. 13-17)Pub Date: Oct. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4814-8196-0
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2018
Categories: TEENS & YOUNG ADULT FICTION | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT FAMILY
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A teenage, not-so-lonely loner endures the wilds of high school in Austin, Texas.
Norris Kaplan, the protagonist of Philippe’s debut novel, is a hypersweaty, uber-snarky black, Haitian, French-Canadian pushing to survive life in his new school. His professor mom’s new tenure-track job transplants Norris mid–school year, and his biting wit and sarcasm are exposed through his cataloging of his new world in a field guide–style burn book. He’s greeted in his new life by an assortment of acquaintances, Liam, who is white and struggling with depression; Maddie, a self-sacrificing white cheerleader with a heart of gold; and Aarti, his Indian-American love interest who offers connection. Norris’ ego, fueled by his insecurities, often gets in the way of meaningful character development. The scenes showcasing his emotional growth are too brief and, despite foreshadowing, the climax falls flat because he still gets incredible personal access to people he’s hurt. A scene where Norris is confronted by his mother for getting drunk and belligerent with a white cop is diluted by his refusal or inability to grasp the severity of the situation and the resultant minor consequences. The humor is spot-on, as is the representation of the black diaspora; the opportunity for broader conversations about other topics is there, however, the uneven buildup of detailed, meaningful exchanges and the glibness of Norris’ voice detract.
Despite some missteps, this will appeal to readers who enjoy a fresh and realistic teen voice. (Fiction. 13-16)Pub Date: Jan. 8, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-282411-0
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2018
Categories: TEENS & YOUNG ADULT FICTION | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT SOCIAL THEMES
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