Intriguingly different but in need of refinement.
Lily knows how to care for the dead, but what about the living?
In her greater Bay Area town, scarred and scared 18-year-old Lily—long teased for being the daughter of a mortician, nearly killed and still limping after a serious fall from a tree years earlier—finds it easier to relate to the dead people she prepares for burial than to her (centrally cast) best friend or recent high school–graduate stepbrother. Lily, who avoids social situations, dropped out of school after 11th grade and now has her GED diploma. Her genuine compassion for the dead (she spends her hard-earned money buying a deceased homeless woman a nice thrift store outfit for a viewing no one attends) and her anxiety around the living create an unusual and compelling portrait. When a nearby home explodes and the lone survivor is a mysterious boy who may be the same person who saved her when she nearly died, Lily falls again—this time emotionally. The end result is a mashup of one too many elements: A thoughtful bildungsroman vies for attention with a Stranger Things–like blend of evil-government–action story mixed with science fiction, fantasy, and mystery, to the detriment of both despite their individual unique charms and the ways the two plots support each other. In a town infamous for a lynching, main characters are White by default.
Intriguingly different but in need of refinement. (Paranormal romance. 12-18)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4549-3948-1
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Sterling Teen
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A powerful exploration of human connection during nightmarish times.
In an alternate Victorian era, unlikely allies confront monsters and murders.
It’s 1888, and misogynist Jack is on the prowl in Whitechapel, London, butchering women and consuming their organs, which he hopes will “restore him to health and life.” After one murder, he’s approached by a Gorgon, a snake-haired monster from Greek mythology with a gaze that turns people to stone. But Jack isn’t affected by her petrifying powers; he runs away and continues his murder spree. Fleeing the police, Jack boards a ship heading across the Atlantic. In New York City, Pearl Davenport and Tabitha Woodward are members of the Salvation Army, spreading God’s word. They’re roommates who have a contentious relationship—rigidly pious Pearl clashes with more easygoing Tabitha. Wanting to help Cora, a distressed girl they briefly cross paths with, Pearl and Tabitha ask investigative reporter Freyda to help locate her. Pearl falls ill while Tabitha scours the city, seeking answers and receiving assistance from surprising sources, including handsome bartender Mike and Miss Stella, a secretive older woman. All the while, an evil lurking in the city is growing closer. Berry’s exploration of Jack the Ripper’s motivations is intriguing. But the evolving relationships among the largely white-presenting characters—particularly the one between Pearl and Tabitha as they confront horrors that are softened by the compassion they encounter—offer the real appeal, accentuating the best and worst of human nature.
A powerful exploration of human connection during nightmarish times. (historical notes, bibliography) (Historical paranormal. 12-18)Pub Date: Sept. 16, 2025
ISBN: 9781534470811
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 3, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2025
Enjoyably atmospheric.
Sixteen-year-old Cara Tang has been able to see ghosts since she was a child, but her power is more a burden than a blessing.
Raised by Laolao, her late grandmother, who is both a ghost and a powerful ghost speaker, and her anxious, protective single mother, who has repressed her own ability to see ghosts, Chinese American Cara feels caught between the two women, unable to fully embrace or reject her ghost-speaking inheritance. When she stumbles across the snake-bitten corpse of Zach Coleson, a handsome, wealthy, and irritating white boy who’s been her rival since childhood, she turns to Laolao for help. Her grandmother informs Cara of the existence of the Signet Snake, a harbinger of destruction whose lethal bite can be undone within seven days using antivenom from the snake’s counterpart residing in the liminal world. Zach’s ghost agrees to Cara’s bargain—$12,000 and a college recommendation letter from his influential dad in return for his resurrection—and the two set off on a dangerous journey across magical landscapes. Cara’s also contending with a growing awareness that her feelings for Zach—an unexpectedly resourceful and protective adventuring partner—might burn hotter than mere annoyance. Aside from a sprinkling of Chinese lore and original mythology, this ornately written debut focuses on themes of legacy and self-acceptance through Cara’s internal struggle with being a ghost speaker. The romantic tension running throughout is palpable but needs a little more substance to make the leads’ attraction feel completely convincing.
Enjoyably atmospheric. (Paranormal. 13-18)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9780063252769
Page Count: 368
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2023
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