by Lauren DeStefano ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2013
The setting may be novel enough to keep readers going.
An original premise dominates this latest dystopia: A city has floated above the Earth, apparently for millennia. Is it a prison or a refuge?
Sixteen-year-old Morgan feels trapped on Internment, her city that floats on a rock in the sky. Her brother Lex tried to jump from their island, only to go blind in the attempt. As the story slowly unfolds, readers learn that Internment is a totalitarian monarchy. Morgan’s best friend, Pen, loves her life on Internment, believing all the propaganda even as she enjoys flouting the suffocating rules. Morgan, however, learns that the king and his government do not merely closely watch those they suspect of nonconformity—sometimes they kill them. When a girl is found murdered and excerpts from a subversive paper the dead girl had written begin to appear, Morgan finds herself pulled ever more strongly into opposition. DeStefano creates a believable world in her sky city, with a nicely done police-state theme. If the story moves along slowly, related in Morgan’s flat present-tense narration, it remains interesting enough. Characters are developed well, including the dead girl through her quotations. Suspense builds slowly as the plot unfolds, ending, of course, on a cliffhanger.
The setting may be novel enough to keep readers going. (Dystopian adventure. 12 & up)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4424-8061-2
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 13, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2013
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by Lauren DeStefano ; illustrated by Gaia Cornwall
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by Holly Jackson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 4, 2020
A treat for mystery readers who enjoy being kept in suspense.
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New York Times Bestseller
Everyone believes that Salil Singh killed his girlfriend, Andrea Bell, five years ago—except Pippa Fitz-Amobi.
Pip has known and liked Sal since childhood; he’d supported her when she was being bullied in middle school. For her senior capstone project, Pip researches the disappearance of former Fairview High student Andie, last seen on April 18, 2014, by her younger sister, Becca. The original investigation concluded with most of the evidence pointing to Sal, who was found dead in the woods, apparently by suicide. Andie’s body was never recovered, and Sal was assumed by most to be guilty of abduction and murder. Unable to ignore the gaps in the case, Pip sets out to prove Sal’s innocence, beginning with interviewing his younger brother, Ravi. With his help, Pip digs deeper, unveiling unsavory facts about Andie and the real reason Sal’s friends couldn’t provide him with an alibi. But someone is watching, and Pip may be in more danger than she realizes. Pip’s sleuthing is both impressive and accessible. Online articles about the case and interview transcripts are provided throughout, and Pip’s capstone logs offer insights into her thought processes as new evidence and suspects arise. Jackson’s debut is well-executed and surprises readers with a connective web of interesting characters and motives. Pip and Andie are white, and Sal is of Indian descent.
A treat for mystery readers who enjoy being kept in suspense. (Mystery. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-9636-0
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
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BOOK TO SCREEN
by Natasha Preston ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 26, 2023
A flawed but entertaining Halloween thriller.
Penny’s sleepy little farming town hasn’t been the same since it was terrorized by a masked killer who claimed five teenage victims last Halloween.
That killer just happened to be the father of her ex-boyfriend, Nash, and afterward, Penny’s parents forced her to break up with Nash. This October, everyone is on edge. Nash and his sister, Grace, are local outcasts, and when Penny finds another classmate’s dead body while shopping for Halloween costumes in a party supply store, the proverbial pitchforks come out. As the body count rises, the townspeople quickly blame Nash and Grace. To take the heat off Nash, for whom Penny still has feelings, the two team up to try to figure out the killer’s identity. But when it becomes apparent that the killer is targeting Penny, their mission becomes a matter of life or death. Suspenseful chases and mysterious sightings interspersed with an occasional dead body keep the pacing fast and consistent. The setting is reminiscent of Scream’s Woodsboro, and Preston makes good use of spooky Halloween decorations. The character development is light, and readers will quickly become frustrated with the many poor choices Penny makes. The abrupt ending may irritate some, but slasher fans will nevertheless enjoy trying to figure out who the menacing person hiding behind a mask is. Penny and Nash are cued white; Penny’s friends include some racial and religious diversity.
A flawed but entertaining Halloween thriller. (Thriller. 12-18)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9780593481516
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
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