A riveting and original page-turner centering on beautifully realized characters.
Moemoana Auri, whose given name means “ocean dream,” is a Mā’ohi, or French Polynesian, 18-year-old with an intimate connection to Moana, the sea.
Warned by a premonition that her younger brother, Tao, will drown, Moe has been working toward their escape. In just four days, they’ll leave Vaeaga for the Big Island, Tahiti, and head to Paris where Moe will attend university, her flight covered by a scholarship for Indigenous students. But the sea delivers another ominous warning: “In four days, you will be bound to this island.” Then Tao’s white girlfriend, Sabine, disappears, and Tao, who’s struggled with bouts of amnesia since their dad died and mom left, can’t recall recent events, making the gendarmes think he’s to blame. With time ticking away, Moe ends up working with Temanea Yung to find Sabine and clear Tao’s name—introducing complications since Temanea is her maddeningly annoying crush and academic rival, and he seems to like her former best friend. Moe is a realistically drawn parentified teen who’s trying her best to save her brother. The strong pacing is enhanced by short chapters and a pace that picks up as time runs out. This debut by Indigenous author Heinrich, who’s of Mā’ohi/French Polynesian origin, is fresh and entrancing, with the mystery surrounding Sabine’s disappearance, the magical connection Moe has to Moana, and intriguing information about the impact of France’s nuclear testing on the islands’ residents.
A riveting and original page-turner centering on beautifully realized characters. (pronunciation guide, author’s note) (Speculative thriller. 13-18)Pub Date: Nov. 17, 2026
ISBN: 9781665986076
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Sarah Barley Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2026
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes.
The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.
Paedyn Gray witnessed the king kill her father five years ago, and she’s been thieving and sleeping rough ever since, all while faking Psychic abilities. When she inadvertently saves the life of Prince Kai, she becomes embroiled in the Purging Trials, a competition to commemorate the sickness that killed most of the kingdom’s Ordinaries. Kai’s duties as the future Enforcer include eradicating any remaining Ordinaries, and these Trials are his chance to prove that he’s internalized his brutal training. But Kai can’t help but find Pae’s blue eyes, silver hair, and unabashed attitude enchanting. She likewise struggles to resist his stormy gray eyes, dark hair, and rakish behavior, even as they’re pitted against each other in the Trials and by the king himself. Scenes and concepts that are strongly reminiscent of the Hunger Games fall flat: They aren’t bolstered by the original’s heart or worldbuilding logic that would have justified a few extreme story elements. Illogical leaps and inconsistent characterizations abound, with lighthearted romantic interludes juxtaposed against genocide, child abuse, and sadism. These elements, which are not sufficiently addressed, combined with the use of ableist language, cannot be erased by any amount of romantic banter. Main characters are cued white; the supporting cast has some brown-skinned characters.
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9798987380406
Page Count: 538
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter.
After a Nigerian British girl goes off to an exclusive boarding school that seems to prey on less-privileged students, she discovers there might be some truth behind an urban legend.
Ife Adebola joins the Urban Achievers scholarship program at pricey, high-pressure Nithercott School, arriving shortly after a student called Leon mysteriously disappeared. Gossip says he’s a victim of the glowing-eyed Changing Man who targets the lonely, leaving them changed. Ife doesn’t believe in the myth, but amid the stresses of Nithercott’s competitive, privileged, majority-white environment, where she is constantly reminded of her state school background, she does miss her friends and family. When Malika, a fellow Black scholarship student, disappears and then returns, acting strangely devoid of personality, Ife worries the Changing Man is real—and that she’s next. Ife joins forces with classmate Bijal and Benny, Leon’s younger brother, to uncover the truth about who the Changing Man is and what he wants. Culminating in a detailed, gory, and extended climactic battle, this verbose thriller tempts readers with a nefarious mystery involving racial and class-based violence but never quite lives up to its potential and peters out thematically by its explosive finale. However, this debut offers highly visually evocative and eerie descriptions of characters and events and will appeal to fans of creature horror, social commentary, and dark academia.
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781250868138
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: June 8, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023
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