A compelling, unpredictable, and uncompromisingly dark debut.
Fifteen-year-old Jo’s already strange world is upended when her history begins to unravel around her.
Jo never actually knew Jolene, the mother she was named after, having been raised mostly by her tough but caring Aunt Aggie in their economically depressed, opiate-ravaged Ohio town. Years ago, Aggie left her own religiously devout, abusive mother’s home, taking her niece with her. Jo learned early on not to talk about her sister, a feral girl whom she calls Lee and with whom she spends most nights running in the woods. Lee first appeared to her at the edge of the woods when Jo was 5, but no one else believes she is real. The novel weaves a complex first-person narrative that incorporates Jo’s family trauma with the secrets of the past and her current difficult experiences as she and her best friend, Savannah, navigate adolescence, all the while meditating heavily on themes of feminism and religious and societal judgement. The gritty realism of the propulsive mystery at times gives way to elements that feel both horrific and unrelentingly grim, but its winding path will hold the rapt attention of readers who favor the macabre. All main characters seem to be white. Jo’s and Savannah’s feelings for one another at times move beyond friendship, and they’ve dealt with some homophobic harassment.
A compelling, unpredictable, and uncompromisingly dark debut. (Thriller. 14-adult)Pub Date: Aug. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-9354-3
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 15, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
Disappointing.
Unlikely friends fight their growing feelings for each other while placing bets on other people’s love lives.
Bailey met Charlie while flying from Alaska, where she grew up, to Nebraska, where she and her mom would be living after her parents’ divorce. Although they briefly bonded over their parents’ divorces, Charlie’s cynicism grated on the rule-following Bailey, and she was thankful to part ways with him. Three years later, to Bailey’s dismay, she runs into Charlie when they both land jobs at Planet Funnn, a mega-hotel that’s “like a giant landlocked cruise ship.” This time around, Bailey and Charlie begin to get along better. To entertain themselves during their long shifts, they observe and make bets about the hotel guests. But they risk taking it too far when they bet on whether their co-worker Theo will end up with Nekesa, Bailey’s best friend, who’s in “a perfect relationship with the perfect guy.” The book explores Bailey’s conflicted feelings toward her mom’s new relationship with Scott (who doesn’t “do anything wrong” but whose presence changes “the vibe” at home), but it does so in a way that diminishes a primary source of conflict. Bailey's and Charlie’s feelings become even more complicated when Charlie helps Bailey with a fake-dating scheme intended to scare Scott off. Some of the banter between the leads, who are coded white, feels more aggressive than playful, detracting from their intimacy, and the circuitous plot may fail to sustain readers’ interest.
Disappointing. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 28, 2023
ISBN: 9781665921237
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
This astonishing book will generate much-needed discussion.
After 15-year-old Will sees his older brother, Shawn, gunned down on the streets, he sets out to do the expected: the rules dictate no crying, no snitching, and revenge.
Though the African-American teen has never held one, Will leaves his apartment with his brother’s gun tucked in his waistband. As he travels down on the elevator, the door opens on certain floors, and Will is confronted with a different figure from his past, each a victim of gun violence, each important in his life. They also force Will to face the questions he has about his plan. As each “ghost” speaks, Will realizes how much of his own story has been unknown to him and how intricately woven they are. Told in free-verse poems, this is a raw, powerful, and emotional depiction of urban violence. The structure of the novel heightens the tension, as each stop of the elevator brings a new challenge until the narrative arrives at its taut, ambiguous ending. There is considerable symbolism, including the 15 bullets in the gun and the way the elevator rules parallel street rules. Reynolds masterfully weaves in textured glimpses of the supporting characters. Throughout, readers get a vivid picture of Will and the people in his life, all trying to cope with the circumstances of their environment while expressing the love, uncertainty, and hope that all humans share.
This astonishing book will generate much-needed discussion. (Verse fiction. 12-adult)Pub Date: Oct. 17, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4814-3825-4
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Caitlyn Dlouhy/Atheneum
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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