“Run, Ronnie, run,” whispers the river. And Ronnie runs. Daily, long-distance jogs help her come to terms with her father’s psychological crisis, the sudden addition of two foster siblings and the family’s abrupt transition from city-dwellers to country innkeepers. Running helps Ronnie cope, and she looks forward to it until the day her carefree run turns into a mad dash for help. In desperation, Ronnie runs to the Ranger’s office to report the discovery of her young friend Karen’s body in the river. Ronnie has to run yet again, this time for her life, when she crosses the path of some dangerous criminals as she searches for clues about what happened to Karen. In insightful and often surprisingly funny prose, Beaufrand presents the search for Karen’s killer, interspersing it with Ronnie’s memories of special times she enjoyed with Karen. Supporting characters, including Ronnie’s troubled friend Gretchen and foster brother/potential boyfriend Tomás, are not fleshed out as much as one might hope, but the story is really about Ronnie, and she feels entirely real. Compelling. (Suspense. YA)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-316-04168-3
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Dec. 31, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
A strong beginning that will leave readers hungry for more.
Subterfuge is the name of the game at an elite and secretive prep school.
Seventeen-year-old Italian-American November was born in August. Though she tragically lost her mother at age 6, she has an enviable life in small-town Connecticut, a strong relationship with her dad, and a mentor in her Aunt Jo. That is until, due to a family emergency, her father sends her away to a covert boarding school. Instead of mathematics and literature, students at the Academy Absconditi learn how to wield weapons both physical and psychological, and history is taught so they might manipulate the future. Guileless November quickly allies herself with her studious Egyptian roommate, Layla, and Layla’s handsome brother, Ash. When a fellow student turns up dead, November must expose the truth, including her own connection to the victim and the influential Council of Families, while navigating a minefield of misinformation. The first-person narration is unreliable due to the protagonist’s ignorance of the society in which she moves, while surreptitious behavior by the supporting characters forces the reader to be as wary as November ought to be. Revelations are well-paced, though astute readers are apt to pick up several of the dropped clues (but some are dropped and not resolved). Red herrings or possible threads that will be woven into future plots? Anything is possible in this world of cloaks and daggers.
A strong beginning that will leave readers hungry for more. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: March 26, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-525-57908-3
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Dec. 18, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2019
A twisty thriller that asks: How much do you really know about your parents?
Four teens try to piece together a 35-year-old mystery.
In Canterstown in the present day, four close friends—Liam, Elayah, Marcie, and Jorja—dig up a time capsule that their parents buried decades ago and find, among a few harmless keepsakes, a bloodied knife and a note that reads, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to kill anyone.” Not long after, Elayah is attacked in her own home and almost dies. Though Liam’s dad is the sheriff and he says he’s on the case, the four friends begin harboring suspicions against their own parents when their excuses and backstories just don’t add up. Meanwhile, in 1986, the stories of Dean, Jay, and twins Marcus and Antoine unfurl, chronicling the lead-up to the burial of the capsule (and its murder weapon). As the contemporary amateur sleuths try to find answers, they risk endangering themselves further for a truth they might not want to hear. Though the novel is a bit bloated with its long list of characters and hefty page count, the central mystery and various twists will keep readers turning pages. Lyga does an excellent job of portraying a racially and sexually diverse cast, not shying away from the realities of having a marginalized identity but rather braiding those elements into the plot itself.
A twisty thriller that asks: How much do you really know about your parents? (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 28, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-316-53778-0
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
