Teen angst soars as Johnson delightfully conjures up more nefarious deeds from the mountain mist.
Murder and mayhem return to Ellingham Academy.
This sequel to Truly Devious (2018), an engrossing mystery set at an exclusive prep school in the mountains of Vermont, ramps up the intrigue as teen sleuth Stevie Bell continues to probe Ellingham’s troubled past and present. At the end of Volume 1, Stevie’s parents, having gotten wind that following the supposedly accidental death of one student, another had gone missing, yanked her out of Ellingham and brought her home to Pittsburgh. Now Stevie gets to return to Ellingham thanks to the intercession of the “worst man in America,” scheming, nationalistic Pennsylvania senator Edward King, for whom Stevie’s parents work. King asks Stevie to keep an eye on his rebellious son, David, who’s also her love interest. Once back, Stevie continues to investigate both the present-day death of housemate Hayes Major and the uncanny disappearance of Element “Ellie” Walker as well as the 1936 Ellingham kidnapping and murders. As before, Johnson deftly alternates between Stevie’s first-person narrative, as her investigations yield new insights and dangers for her mostly white, serviceably diverse set of misfit-genius classmates, and historical flashbacks involving the original Ellingham mysteries. Throughout this volume, Johnson’s compelling would-be Sherlock proves to be as bad at personal relationships as she is adept at solving mysteries.
Teen angst soars as Johnson delightfully conjures up more nefarious deeds from the mountain mist. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-233808-2
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2019
A haunting page-turner that smartly explores the complexities of teenage relationships and feelings of self-worth.
When police investigate a teenage girl’s supposed suicide, New Helvetia High’s most exclusive friend group comes under scrutiny.
The Thrashers are high school royalty. Zack Thrasher (the group’s namesake), Lucy Reed, Paige Montgomery, and Julian Hollister are wealthy and attractive. Jodi Dillon, who feels ordinary by comparison, has been friends with Zack since childhood. Not just anyone can become a Thrasher, but that was Emily Mills’ goal. After Emily is found dead the evening of prom, rumors circulate around school that she was Thrashed—socially ostracized—for trying to join the clique. Everything starts to unravel after investigators find Emily’s journal detailing how she was bullied by all of them—except Jodi, who rebuffed her. Jodi feels compelled to seek the truth surrounding Emily’s death without implicating her friends, but the more she learns, the more she doubts their credibility. The story’s careful, highly effective pacing contributes to the increasingly unsettling tension as strange and terrifying incidents occur. Readers who empathize with insecure Jodi are kept in suspense until the end, feeling relief whenever the others show genuine care for her while nervously anticipating the possibility that harm may befall her. Main characters largely present white. Lucy has brown skin, and Jodi is cued as white and Latine.
A haunting page-turner that smartly explores the complexities of teenage relationships and feelings of self-worth. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9781250377173
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A gripping tribute to resilience.
A girl with amnesia and a boy suspected of harming his girlfriend overcome adversity to find the answers they seek.
A 17-year-old girl wakes up in a ditch, disoriented and with no memory of who she is or what happened. Found by the Alton, Oregon, police, she is brought to the station. Soon after, Wayne Boone, a man claiming to be her father, shows up. He has photos of her on his phone and her high school ID card, with the name Mary Boone. Wayne convinces the police to release Mary into his custody. The more time Mary spends with Wayne, however, the weirder things get: He’s unaware of her food allergy, and as her memories start to return, they don’t conform with Wayne’s versions of her life. In the town of Washington City, across the Willamette River, Drew is in a bad place. His girlfriend, Lola, has disappeared, and Drew was the last person to see her. His adoptive dads and cousin are the only ones who support him; everyone else, including the sheriff, thinks he’s responsible for Lola’s disappearance. Intent on finding Lola, Drew finds help in an unlikely ally, Lola’s best friend, Autumn, who is the sheriff’s daughter. But will they find Lola in time? The two immersive storylines bring to life the trials and frustrations each main character faces in this debut, which is a thrilling delight right up to the unexpected and bittersweet conclusion. Most characters are cued white; one of Drew’s dads is Guatemalan.
A gripping tribute to resilience. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Dec. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781728270111
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
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