Five London girls form a band and enter a trans-Atlantic reality show in an attempt to become rock stars.
The book opens with a murder, then chronicles the time leading up to that event. Lucy's parents have forbidden her to see her best friend, Harper, but now Harper needs Lucy's drumming talents for her new rock group, Crush. Harper assures Lucy, Robyn, Toni, and Iza that Crush will win. However, Harper has an ulterior motive: she wants to hook up with her old boyfriend, ne'er-do-well Rafe, son of an entertainment icon. They win one of the four top spots in the show and travel to live in LA, over the objections of Lucy's parents, where each girl falls into her own difficulty. Harper tries to outmaneuver her rival for Rafe, Skye, who's really in love with her family gardener. Robyn’s use of diet drugs leads to a serious addiction. Toni gets into a relationship with the group's married manager, threatening the entire enterprise. Iza falls in love with a boy perfect for her but is too shy to manage the romance well. Meanwhile, Lucy impresses the group's producer with her drumming skills but realizes that it's really up to her to hold the group together. The authors juggle the romances and their mostly white cast against a glamorous Hollywood backdrop, switching the third-person narration through the perspectives of the girls. As they move into the more serious murder mystery, the story begins to deepen somewhat—but never more than somewhat.
For fans of slow, soapy thrillers . (Thriller. 12-18)Pub Date: April 4, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-77138-730-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: KCP Loft/Kids Can
Review Posted Online: Jan. 17, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2017
Categories: TEEN FICTION
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In an imagined setting evoking medieval England, King Jameson of Coroa pursues Hollis Brite.
The independent teenager makes Jameson laugh, but she lacks the education and demeanor people expect in a queen. Her friend Delia Grace has more knowledge of history and languages but is shunned due to her illegitimate birth. Hollis gets caught up in a whirl of social activity, especially following an Isolten royal visit. There has been bad blood between the two countries, not fully explained here, and when an exiled Isolten family also comes to court, Jameson generously allows them to stay. Hollis relies on the family to teach her about Isolten customs and secretly falls in love with Silas, the oldest son, even though a relationship with him would mean relinquishing Jameson and the throne. When Hollis learns of political machinations that will affect her future in ways that she abhors, she faces a difficult decision. Romance readers will enjoy the usual descriptions of dresses, jewelry, young love, and discreet kisses, although many characters remain cardboard figures. While the violent climax may be upsetting, the book ends on a hopeful note. Themes related to immigration and young women’s taking charge of their lives don’t quite lift this awkwardly written volume above other royal romances. There are prejudicial references to Romani people, and whiteness is situated as the norm.
Skip this uninspired entry into the world of medieval love and court intrigue. (Historical romance. 13-16)Pub Date: May 5, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-229163-9
Page Count: 320
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: Feb. 5, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2020
Categories: TEEN FICTION | TEEN ROMANCE | TEEN SOCIAL THEMES
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Clare’s (Ghosts of the Shadow Market, 2019, etc.) latest is set in the Shadowhunter world in the 20th century’s first decade (with frequent flashbacks to the previous one).
Teenage offspring of the Herondales, Carstairs, Fairchilds, and other angel-descended Nephilim continue their families’ demon-fighting ways amid a round of elegant London balls, soirees, salons, picnics, and romantic intrigues. James Herondale, 17-year-old son of Will and Tessa, finds himself and his “perfectly lethal dimple” hung up between two stunning new arrivals: Cordelia Carstairs, red-haired Persian/British wielder of a fabled magic sword, and Grace Blackthorn, an emotionally damaged but (literally, as the author unsubtly telegraphs) spellbinding friend from childhood. Meanwhile, a sudden outbreak of demonic attacks that leave more and more Shadowhunters felled by a mysterious slow poison plunges James and a cohort of allies into frantic searches for both a cause and an antidote. Ichor-splashed encounters with ravening boojums and even one of hell’s own princes ensue—all leading to final hints of a devastating scheme to destroy the Nephilim in which James himself is slated to play a central role. Characters have a range of skin tones, but ethnic diversity adds no texture to the portrayals; there is a lesbian cousin who wears traditionally male clothing and two young gay men (one tortured, the other less so).
Busy, busy, busy…with portents of doom. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: March 3, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4814-3187-3
Page Count: 624
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: Jan. 23, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2020
Categories: TEEN FICTION | TEEN HISTORICAL FICTION | TEEN SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY
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