In Fogelberg’s YA fantasy series starter, trees begin attacking and killing humans, and three teens investigate why.
In Derwyn, Pennsylvania, high school junior Flora Reed has been an outcast for a year, ever since she and her sister were struck by lightning. She has strange scars on her skin, but her 14-year-old sister, Fauna, is in a catatonic state. In addition, Flora still struggles with the fact that their scientist father went missing years ago. However, her best friend, Carl Nielsen, convinces her to attend an end-of-the-school-year party to celebrate summer. Three boys there aggressively demand to see Flora’s scars and rip her T-shirt from her body before Carl and his friend Aaron rescue her. The next morning, Flora sees one of the boys that attacked her the night before, hanging from the very tree she and Fauna had climbed before lightning struck. Soon, the other two boys are found dead in the woods, twisted into tree branches. Each boys had an X scratched into his forehead, and then Carl receives a similar mark while running through the woods. Flora, Carl, and Aaron are sure the trees are attacking humans after marking them, but no one believes them. Soon, Flora and the boys must hide from an angry mob, and she starts to suspect that Carl knows more than he’s letting on—and the more she learns about the trees, the more she begins to understand their goal. Over the course of this YA novel, Fogelberg presents an exciting story not only of teens trying to escape the trees themselves, but also townspeople intent on pinning crimes on them. The story delves into classic SF themes regarding environmentalism and humans’ abuse of the planet’s resources, but it feels very original at the same time. Flora’s feelings of being an outsider due to her accident and her family situation feel genuine, and young readers will certainly be able to relate to her anxieties. Overall, it’s a fast-paced, intriguing story that will likely appeal to young and older adults alike and keep them turning pages.
A brisk, thrilling novel of humankind versus nature.Pub Date: March 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-9-19874-760-7
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Dedaun Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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This tear-jerker will leave readers wanting to follow the next chapter in Darius’ life.
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Darius Kellner suffers from depression, bullying by high school jocks, and a father who seems to always be disappointed in him.
When Darius’ grandfather becomes terminally ill, Darius, along with his parents and younger sister, travels to Iran for the first time in his life. Iranian on his mother’s side and white American on his father’s side, Darius never quite fits in. He’s mocked for his name and nerdy interests at Chapel Hill High School in Portland, Oregon, and doesn’t speak enough Farsi to communicate with his Iranian relatives either. When he arrives in Iran, learning to play the Persian card game Rook, socializing, and celebrating Nowruz with a family he had never properly met before is all overwhelming and leaves Darius wondering if he’ll ever truly belong anywhere. But all that changes when Darius meets Sohrab, a Bahá’í boy, in Yazd. Sohrab teaches Darius what friendship is really about: loyalty, honesty, and someone who has your back in a football (soccer) match. For the first time in a long time, Darius learns to love himself no matter what external forces attempt to squash his confidence. Khorram’s debut novel is filled with insight into the lives of teens, weaving together the reality of living with mental illness while also dealing with identity and immigration politics.
This tear-jerker will leave readers wanting to follow the next chapter in Darius’ life. (Fiction. 12-adult)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-525-55296-3
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: June 17, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
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This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression.
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After surviving a suicide attempt, a fragile teen isn't sure she can endure without cutting herself.
Seventeen-year-old Charlie Davis, a white girl living on the margins, thinks she has little reason to live: her father drowned himself; her bereft and abusive mother kicked her out; her best friend, Ellis, is nearly brain dead after cutting too deeply; and she's gone through unspeakable experiences living on the street. After spending time in treatment with other young women like her—who cut, burn, poke, and otherwise hurt themselves—Charlie is released and takes a bus from the Twin Cities to Tucson to be closer to Mikey, a boy she "like-likes" but who had pined for Ellis instead. But things don't go as planned in the Arizona desert, because sweet Mikey just wants to be friends. Feeling rejected, Charlie, an artist, is drawn into a destructive new relationship with her sexy older co-worker, a "semifamous" local musician who's obviously a junkie alcoholic. Through intense, diarylike chapters chronicling Charlie's journey, the author captures the brutal and heartbreaking way "girls who write their pain on their bodies" scar and mar themselves, either succumbing or surviving. Like most issue books, this is not an easy read, but it's poignant and transcendent as Charlie breaks more and more before piecing herself back together.
This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression. (author’s note) (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-101-93471-5
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2016
Categories: TEENS & YOUNG ADULT FICTION | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT SOCIAL THEMES
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