A bright, resourceful heroine makes her mark in this first novel with a shaky, brutal premise.
A teenage girl uncovers a shadowy conspiracy threatening the nation’s dogs in this YA thriller.
Torrance Olivia Maddox—called Tor—is about to turn 16. Her main concerns: getting the pas de deux in the holiday ballet show, studying vocabulary, hanging with friends, and following CNN obsessively. At the dog park with her dog, Cocoa, she meets a cute guy but soon learns that both the young man and his dog died suddenly of an unknown type of influenza. Spurred by an anonymous blogger (“Are you aware that Man’s Best Friend just became Public Enemy Number One?”) and CNN’s coverage of the dangerous new flu strain, she begins investigating. Her research and intelligent deductions convince her that dogs are the vector, yet the authorities say nothing. She writes an angry email to CNN and men in black start tailing her; meanwhile, the government mandates “protective isolation” for dogs in affected areas. But what Tor witnesses convinces her that most of the dogs are healthy and that people aren’t getting their dogs back. She decides to take action, putting herself and Cocoa at risk. The smart, curious, funny Tor is an appealing young heroine. Although, she’s not entirely realistic—she’s a 5-foot-10-inch ballerina whose only “flaw” is a casual sense of style. Her friends “beg [her] to put on the micro styles that make them hate their own thighs.” The plot is suspenseful and balances the thrills with some laughs. However, Coley (Tor Maddox: Mistaken, 2015, etc.), asks readers to believe that millions of dog owners would obediently surrender their healthy, beloved pets to the government and ask no questions, a stretch at best. Also, the huge number of pets that die here is off-putting in the extreme.
A bright, resourceful heroine makes her mark in this first novel with a shaky, brutal premise.Pub Date: May 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-5088-6080-8
Page Count: 306
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Sept. 3, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Readers will be captivated by this twisty thriller and its uncompromising protagonist.
The mother Annabel Price thought was dead returns with a story about where she’s been—but 18-year-old Bel knows she’s lying.
Ever since Rachel Price’s unexplained disappearance 16 years ago, true-crime fans have come up with plentiful theories about what happened. Bel and her family members, who are white, cobbled together lives for themselves after a jury found Bel’s father, Charlie, not guilty of murdering his wife. Beset with medical bills for his elderly father, Charlie recently agreed to participate in a documentary about the unsolved mystery. Black British filmmaker Ramsey Lee is well into the process of interviewing the Prices when his project gets an unanticipated boost after an exhausted, disheveled Rachel staggers back into town. Rachel is eager to resume her role in the family, but the inconsistencies in her accounts raise alarms for Bel. With the help of the youngest member of the filmmaking team, Bel sets out to learn what really happened. Along the way, someone else disappears, and Bel uncovers a tangle of lies that make it impossible for her to trust people she thought she knew. When things come to a head the night of her grandfather’s 85th birthday party, Bel ends up in a race for her life. The last quarter of the novel tears along at a breakneck pace before arriving at a satisfying and unexpected conclusion.
Readers will be captivated by this twisty thriller and its uncompromising protagonist. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 9780593374207
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
A treat for mystery readers who enjoy being kept in suspense.
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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