A polished tale that is twisted and disturbing.
Kray’s Defile is a place with charm. Just don’t look too closely.
When her father moves them to small-town Montana from Montreal so he can study bats in the nearby caves, high schooler Celeste Bergstein wants only to blend into the background. It’s an opportunity to start over, free from a frightening and abusive relationship with the director of her drama workshop. With her new friend, fey orphan Vivvy Kray, Celeste starts writing stories about a steamy romance between two of their classmates—presumably straight golden boy Joss Thorssen and gay weed dealer Seth Larkin. The lines between fantasy and reality soon begin to blur, and Vivvy arranges for the four of them to get drunk in the woods near the caves. The next day, Joss is found murdered. With no memory of that night, Celeste has to figure out what happened before she ends up taking the fall for the crime. While investigating the caves with Vivvy’s twin brother, Bram, they discover evidence of a long history of sinister activities by a group called the Defilers. Implicit sexual abuse is a recurring theme, as are psychological manipulation and self-harm. A reference to historical crimes against Indigenous people and accusations that undocumented workers at a meatpacking plant were responsible for Joss’ murder contrast with the presumably White cast. The unreliable characters are well drawn, and the dialogue masterfully replicates the teenage voice.
A polished tale that is twisted and disturbing. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: July 12, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-316-27576-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2022
Hard-to-read story, hard-to-stop-reading writing.
A hardscrabble antihero’s coming out lands him in an off-the-grid conversion camp.
Connor Major of Ambrose, Illinois, has quite a mouth on him. But when it comes to the rite-of-passage revelation to his single, hardcore Christian mother that he’s gay, he can’t find his words. At the behest of his boyfriend, Ario, Connor begrudgingly comes out, which is where the book begins. His rocky relationship with his mother is disintegrating, his frustration with exuberantly out Ario grows, accusations of being the absentee father of his BFF’s baby boy haunt him, and he gets violently absconded to a Christian conversion camp in Costa Rica. And that’s all before the unraveling of a mystery, a murder, gunshots, physical violence, emotional abuse, heat, humidity, and hell on Earth happen in the span of a single day. This story points fingers at despicable zealots and applauds resilient queer kids. Connor’s physical and emotional inability to fully find comfort in being gay isn’t magically erased, acknowledging the difficulty of self-acceptance in the face of disapproving homophobes. Lord of the Flies–like survival skills, murder, and brutal violence (Tasers, spears, guns) fuel the story. And secret sex and romance underscore the lack of social liberty and self-acceptance but also support the optimistic hope of freedom. Connor is White, as is the majority of the cast; Ario is Muslim.
Hard-to-read story, hard-to-stop-reading writing. (Fiction 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-63583-061-3
Page Count: 392
Publisher: Flux
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A suspenseful page-turner.
A paranoia-driven debut novel about a relationship twisted by obsession.
Logan struggles to move on after the death of his great love, Sophie. All he can do is go through the motions until he meets Delilah, a new senior who strongly resembles Sophie. Revived, Logan’s obsession grows as he stalks Delilah online and in real life. Meanwhile, Delilah—whose father died in a tragic accident—feels crushed by her mother’s abusive police detective boyfriend. Just when something happens to remove Brandon from their lives and she thinks everything might be turning around, Logan makes his move. As their relationship develops, Logan’s control over Delilah tightens, and dark secrets and violent decisions send both characters into a complex, dangerous spiral. At one point, as she thinks about her mother’s previous relationship and her own, Delilah’s web search about stalkers leads her to a description of erotomania. Set against a Northern California private school backdrop, the sensational plot is riddled with twists that come at a furious pace. Chapters alternate between Logan’s and Delilah’s perspectives, providing insight into their motives as well as shifting feelings of revulsion and admiration for each. The drama builds to a shocking, albeit abrupt, ending. Delilah is the stronger, more compelling protagonist when compared to Logan’s less nuanced development. Sophie was Japanese American, and Delilah is biracial with a Chinese Singaporean dad and White American mom; Logan is assumed White.
A suspenseful page-turner. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-72821-516-7
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Nov. 25, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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