Smoothly continuing intrigues from earlier novels, this installment tantalizes with tension and drama.
Callie may be established in Harvard's culture and social scene, but can she keep it up?
Things are finally going Callie's way. She has a great boyfriend, is COMPing—effectively a training audition—for the Harvard Crimson (under a COMP director who, unlike Lexi during Callie's try-out for Fifteen Minutes, doesn't hate her), has restored relative peace with her roommates and has full membership in her social society, the Hasty Pudding. But being happily with Clint isn't enough to squash Callie's jealousy when ex-crush Gregory starts dating a transfer student. And while Harvard Crimson managing editor Grace Lee also seems to have some past bad blood with Lexi, Lexi's history as Clint's friend keeps rearing its ugly head, leaving Callie suspicious. Additionally, Grace introduces a new Web feature for the Crimson, The FlyBy blog, which starts with a bang through anonymous posts by "The Ivy Insider" that reveal dirty secrets from the exclusive social clubs. And being on the other end of the punch proceedings—determining whom to invite to prospective member functions for the Hasty Pudding—gives Callie her own look at some of the society's nastiness. Overall, Callie is so overwhelmed that she misses big problem signs—unrelated to her—in close friends, and even some of her own non-romantic troubles. The resulting cliffhanger has the highest stakes yet.
Smoothly continuing intrigues from earlier novels, this installment tantalizes with tension and drama. (Fiction. 16 & up)Pub Date: March 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-06-196049-9
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 4, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2012
A sweet, slow-paced novel about a teen learning to love her body.
Greer Walsh wishes she were one person...unfortunately, with her large breasts, she feels like she’s actually three.
High school sophomore and math whiz Greer is self-conscious about her body. Maude and Mavis, as she’s named her large breasts, are causing problems for her. When Greer meets new kid Jackson Oates, she wishes even more that she had a body that she didn’t feel a need to hide underneath XXL T-shirts. While trying to impress Jackson, who has moved to the Chicago suburbs from Cleveland, Greer decides to try out for her school’s volleyball team. When she makes JV, Greer is forced to come to terms with how her body looks and feels in a uniform and in motion as well as with being physically close with her teammates. The story is told in the first person from Greer’s point of view. Inconsistent storytelling as well as Greer’s (somewhat distracting) personified inner butterfly make this realistic novel a slow but overall enjoyable read. The story contains elements of light romance as well as strong female friendships. Greer is white with a Christian mom and Jewish dad; Jackson seems to be white by default, and there is diversity among the secondary characters.
A sweet, slow-paced novel about a teen learning to love her body. (Fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: June 23, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-1524-8
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
An atmospheric and creepy page-turner.
Seventeen-year-old Anna Cicconi finds herself in the middle of a mystery when she takes a summer nanny job in the swanky Hamptons enclave of Herron Hills.
Frick begins her story at the end. Well, sort of. August in the Hamptons signals the turning of the leaves and sees the grisly discovery of 19-year-old Zoe Spanos’ body. Zoe disappeared on New Year’s Eve, and Anna, who happens to strongly resemble her, has confessed to her murder. However, Martina Green, who runs the podcast Missing Zoe, doesn’t believe Anna did it and attempts to find out what really happened. Flash back to June: Hard-partying recent high school grad Anna sees her new job caring for Tom and Emilia Bellamy’s 8-year-old daughter as a fresh start. As one sun-drenched day melts into the next, Anna is drawn to Windemere, the neighboring Talbots’ looming, Gothic-style home, and to the brooding, mysterious Caden Talbot. But Anna can’t shake a feeling of déjà vu, and she’s having impossible memories that intertwine her life with Zoe’s. Frick easily juggles multiple narratives, and readers will enjoy connecting the dots of her cleverly plotted thriller inspired by Daphne du Maurier’s classic Rebecca. Anna and Zoe are white; the supporting cast includes biracial characters Martina (Latinx/white) and Caden (black/white). Caden discusses grappling with being raised by white adoptive parents, facing racialized suspicion as Zoe’s boyfriend, and feeling marginalized at Yale.
An atmospheric and creepy page-turner. (map) (Thriller. 14-adult)Pub Date: June 30, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5344-4970-1
Page Count: 384
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: March 10, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
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