A well-paced supernatural mystery that entertains but never quite explains.
“What about Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board? Have you guys ever played that?”
Grim fates were sealed the night the popular girls of Willow High gathered for Olivia Richmond’s 16th birthday sleepover. McKenna Brady, the story’s narrator, believes the creepy levitation game is nothing more than group hypnosis, but the mysterious newcomer to their school, Violet Simmons, unnerves the partygoers with a detailed story describing Olivia’s death as she returns from shoe shopping at the mall. McKenna has recently shed glasses, braces, and 20 pounds to discover a newfound “power of being pretty” after being bullied for her appearance. It was supposed to be a fabulous junior year, but while the girls get ready for the Fall Fling dance, Olivia heads out to the mall to find a perfect pair of shoes—and meets a gruesome death on her way home. Was it just a strange coincidence? Luckily, McKenna can turn to her handsome neighbor to hold her hand during the ghostly visitations she begins to experience and to figure out the mystery before tragedy strikes again. An irreverent mashup of mean, teen-queen comedy and supernatural ghost horror story, readers looking for light, spooky fun will enjoy the pace and romance, but others may find the characters superficially flat without any salvaging wit. Most characters are assumed white; some are indeterminate.
A well-paced supernatural mystery that entertains but never quite explains. (Horror. 13-16)Pub Date: Oct. 9, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5344-4402-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 16, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
Care and attention to details of the ballet cannot compensate for slipshod plotting; both balletomanes and urban-fantasy...
An overheated debut mixes high-stakes ballet education with the occult.
Fifteen-year-old Vanessa, though astonishingly gifted, didn’t apply to the ultraprestigious New York Ballet Academy because she wants a career in dance—she did it in the hope of finding her older sister, Margaret, who disappeared from the school after being cast as the Firebird as a freshman three years ago. Once at NYBA, she draws the attention of choreographer Josef and two senior boys, the obnoxious Justin and the lustrous-eyed Zeppelin (a name so hilariously unballetic it could only have been meant ironically—except it seems not to be). It will surprise no one except the catty senior girls that Vanessa is cast as the Firebird, just as her sister was before….Vanessa’s investigation proceeds in fits and starts; irritatingly, an early mystical warning she receives during a hazing incident is dropped. That she does not recall this while rehearsing the mysterious “Danse du Feu” in an underground studio whose charred walls are interrupted only by the white silhouettes of dancers, one of whom resembles Margaret and that sometimes seem to dance with her, will have readers grinding their teeth. A lengthy midsection devolves into a rushed and chaotic conclusion that turns out to be little more than a setup for a sequel.
Care and attention to details of the ballet cannot compensate for slipshod plotting; both balletomanes and urban-fantasy fans should look elsewhere . (Urban fantasy. 13-16)Pub Date: Dec. 24, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-59990-940-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Oct. 23, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2012
Overall, this engaging, surprisingly serious caper is rock-solid.
The consequences of unintentionally kidnapping her rock-star hero reverberate through a misfit English teen’s life.
Grieving for her life-and-soul-of-the-party grandfather, Jody waits all day in line at the Cardiff Arena, desperate for a chance to interact with Jackson Gatlin, the dramatic lead singer of her favorite band, The Regulators. When they meet backstage, Jody is horrified to see the mask of stardom slip away, revealing a miserable, lost soul rather than the assured, sexy star she worships. Jackson, high and hallucinating, mistakes a shiny candy wrapper for a knife, leading Jody to bundle him off home in her best friend Mac’s car. Once Jackson realizes that he’s in what amounts to a secret location, he refuses to leave: Sick of fame, terrified of his sadistic manager and wanting to get sober at last, he’s ready for a normal life. Skuse lets readers see the entitled, self-centered and self-loathing side of international superstardom, slowly forcing Jody to face the reality that famous people are just...people. Jody and Jackson embark on an increasingly stable friendship, while Jody begins to see Mac—supposedly gay but secretly pining for her—as a true love interest. A bit of over-the-top silliness with a very determined local journalist and the cartoonish nastiness of Jackson’s manager are credulity-straining limitations, but these are minor flaws.
Overall, this engaging, surprisingly serious caper is rock-solid. (Fiction. 13-16)Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-42960-3
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Chicken House/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2012
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