A sprightly, original story with good twists.
Sixteen-year-old Luke has no idea what he’s in for when he inherits his dad’s Host of malevolent ghosts.
Luke hasn’t seen his dad, host of a TV show about the paranormal, for years. As the book opens, he learns about his father’s death and his inheritance of some £4 million. In order to receive the money, he must sign a strange agreement written in Latin on vellum. He also receives his dad’s chaotic papers and an ancient green book that he can’t open. Soon Luke meets the Vassal and the Judge, two of the eight-strong Host of ghosts that his father enslaved as a powerful necromancer. Luke wants simply to free them but learns that’s not an option. Enter the Shepherd, bound as one of the Host but an ancient necromancer himself, who knows how to use the green book and aims to trick Luke into giving up what little power he has. Luke teams up with Elza, a bookish local girl with second sight, and together they do their best to decipher the notes and use the green book before Halloween, when the Host ghosts will become powerful enough to kill Luke. Hunt keeps tension high but balances it with humor, including a wonderful short episode written from a dog’s point of view. The northern English setting adds atmosphere, and Luke’s narration is both disarming and amusing.
A sprightly, original story with good twists. (Paranormal suspense. 12-18)Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-7865-4
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 11, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
A powerful exploration of human connection during nightmarish times.
In an alternate Victorian era, unlikely allies confront monsters and murders.
It’s 1888, and misogynist Jack is on the prowl in Whitechapel, London, butchering women and consuming their organs, which he hopes will “restore him to health and life.” After one murder, he’s approached by a Gorgon, a snake-haired monster from Greek mythology with a gaze that turns people to stone. But Jack isn’t affected by her petrifying powers; he runs away and continues his murder spree. Fleeing the police, Jack boards a ship heading across the Atlantic. In New York City, Pearl Davenport and Tabitha Woodward are members of the Salvation Army, spreading God’s word. They’re roommates who have a contentious relationship—rigidly pious Pearl clashes with more easygoing Tabitha. Wanting to help Cora, a distressed girl they briefly cross paths with, Pearl and Tabitha ask investigative reporter Freyda to help locate her. Pearl falls ill while Tabitha scours the city, seeking answers and receiving assistance from surprising sources, including handsome bartender Mike and Miss Stella, a secretive older woman. All the while, an evil lurking in the city is growing closer. Berry’s exploration of Jack the Ripper’s motivations is intriguing. But the evolving relationships among the largely white-presenting characters—particularly the one between Pearl and Tabitha as they confront horrors that are softened by the compassion they encounter—offer the real appeal, accentuating the best and worst of human nature.
A powerful exploration of human connection during nightmarish times. (historical notes, bibliography) (Historical paranormal. 12-18)Pub Date: Sept. 16, 2025
ISBN: 9781534470811
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 3, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2025
An auspicious ending may seem a bit unlikely to some, but this novel has many appealing aspects that will draw readers in.
Fifteen-year-old Zeke gets a job and becomes involved with community organizers who aim to unionize local food-service workers in this novel in verse for reluctant readers.
Zeke hates their lives in the city with Paul, his alcoholic mom’s abusive boyfriend, a hypocritical Christian, and he misses his old home in small-town Wisconsin. Spurred to action by the idea of making enough money for them to move back, he takes a job at Casa de Pizza, where he comes to understand the desperate circumstances many of his minimum-wage–earning co-workers face. Zeke keeps the job secret, fearing Paul will try to steal his earnings. Pagelong free-verse poems evocatively describe Zeke’s experiences and quickly propel the story forward. The dynamics between the employees at Casa de Pizza (Zeke and several others are white, Timothy is black, Hannah is originally from Oaxaca) will be recognizable to teens who’ve worked in food service. Readers will easily sympathize with the all-too-true-to-life situations with which the characters are coping—racism and sexual harassment, Zeke’s awful home life, and a co-worker’s eviction with her children among them. Though short, this story develops the characters’ personalities, sketches in the history of the labor movement, and includes a subdued romantic subplot, effectively balancing these various elements.
An auspicious ending may seem a bit unlikely to some, but this novel has many appealing aspects that will draw readers in. (Fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5383-8260-8
Page Count: 202
Publisher: West 44 Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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