Though not spectacular, this competent, swift novel would be welcome spring-break fare.
An undemanding YA thriller heavy on chaste teenage romance.
Ashley Devoe is a typical high school senior. She and her best friend, Brianne, have after-school jobs, swooning crushes and, in Ashley’s case, separated parents who can sometimes go overboard with the protectiveness. Ashley’s father, an undercover cop, has come off a tough stint busting a meth lab; while Ashley respects his work, she resents the distance it has created within her family. Plus, her dad’s friend Chase is spending too much time with her mom for Ashley’s taste. So when Trent, a new, desperately handsome addition to the senior class, takes an interest in Ashley, she relishes the opportunity to connect. Trent, however, is somewhat more mysterious than the other boys at school: Why won’t he open up more about his past, his family or where he lives? Why does he have Ashley’s father’s cellphone number? Why does he always seem to show up when least expected? And why on Earth does he have a gun in his car? At first, Ashley is too enamored to care; the scent of his cologne alone is romantically overwhelming. Trent’s mysterious qualities—and his reason for the gun—are illuminated after a late, rainy night at work when Ashley catches a ride with a fellow employee who turns out to have deep connection to her father. Author Veil (Psychomanteum, 2014, etc.) knows how to dial up the suspense: For about the first half of the book, the titular chance of rain slowly increases until both the literal and figurative thunderstorms arrive. After this initial climax, the short, final chapters are told from Ashley’s first-person perspective and from other characters’ third-person perspectives, which, though jarring at first, lend texture to Veil’s fairly run-of-the-mill thriller. Veil also captures the occasional inanity of teenage speech, and yet she never condescends to her young protagonists. Young adults will recognize the nuances of high school relationships, and the happy ending will satisfy those who enjoy neat resolutions.
Though not spectacular, this competent, swift novel would be welcome spring-break fare.Pub Date: March 18, 2014
ISBN: 978-1492225409
Page Count: 200
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: June 5, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
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