by Megan Atwood ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2012
The cliffhanger ending with its human and supernatural components will lead fans to the next in the series, The Terror of...
Two teen ghost hunters use their skills to solve a mystery in a haunted apartment house.
Jinx has always had a difficult time fitting in, beginning in middle school. However, by the time she is in high school, she has embraced her outsider status, even reveling in the negative way she is viewed by fellow students. Indeed, she’s even adopted the nickname they gave her, preferring it to her real name. Her one friend, Jackson, remains loyal to her despite his insider status as a member of the football team. Jinx spends her time pursuing her plan to use technology to investigate paranormal phenomena. When one of the girls Jinx particularly dislikes seeks help with mysterious events in her family’s apartment, she is extremely skeptical. Instead, it is soft-hearted Jackson who convinces Jinx this is a case they should take. Finally, Jinx will be able to use the equipment and research she has been working with for some time. This easy-to-read ghost story will grab reluctant readers with its intriguing plot, its quirky main character and her more straight-laced best friend. In addition to the plot’s twists and turns, all of the primary teen characters are coping with issues familiar to readers.
The cliffhanger ending with its human and supernatural components will lead fans to the next in the series, The Terror of Black Eagle Tavern, which publishes simultaneously. (Mystery. 12 & up)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-8225-9077-4
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Darby Creek
Review Posted Online: Aug. 28, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2012
Share your opinion of this book
More by Megan Atwood
BOOK REVIEW
by Megan Atwood illustrated by Natalie Andrewson
BOOK REVIEW
by Megan Atwood ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson
BOOK REVIEW
by Megan Atwood
by Scott Reintgen ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 28, 2023
Truly fantastic.
Awards & Accolades
Our Verdict
GET IT
Kirkus Reviews'
Best Books Of 2023
New York Times Bestseller
This dark fantasy duology opener has a magic school, a death, and five students who find themselves stranded in the wilderness.
Ren Monroe is a promising student wizard at Balmerick, a private school in the city of Kathor. Along with her best friend, Timmons, Ren is one of the few welfare students attending on a scholarship, and despite being one of the most accomplished people at the school, finding a placement in one of the top houses is proving difficult and is a hurdle in the way of the secret mission Ren has set out to accomplish. When a portal spell goes awry and Ren, Timmons, and four other students from different walks of life are thrown together into the Dires, an uncharted land where the last dragons lived, one of them ends up dead and the rest need to learn to work together to make their way back home before they succumb to the harsh environment or the terrifying revenant following them. This may well be the chance Ren was looking for to prove her worth. Placing elements of a locked-room mystery and an original magic system within the familiar trappings of a school for magic, this is a no-holds-barred tale of revenge, atonement, and the pursuit of justice set in a world diverse in skin color and social classes. Ren is a protagonist for the ages: equal parts smart, calculating, and ruthless, forming a lethal package as an avenging angel.
Truly fantastic. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: March 28, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-66591-868-8
Page Count: 368
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
Share your opinion of this book
More In The Series
More by Scott Reintgen
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
by Tomi Oyemakinde ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 26, 2023
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter.
After a Nigerian British girl goes off to an exclusive boarding school that seems to prey on less-privileged students, she discovers there might be some truth behind an urban legend.
Ife Adebola joins the Urban Achievers scholarship program at pricey, high-pressure Nithercott School, arriving shortly after a student called Leon mysteriously disappeared. Gossip says he’s a victim of the glowing-eyed Changing Man who targets the lonely, leaving them changed. Ife doesn’t believe in the myth, but amid the stresses of Nithercott’s competitive, privileged, majority-white environment, where she is constantly reminded of her state school background, she does miss her friends and family. When Malika, a fellow Black scholarship student, disappears and then returns, acting strangely devoid of personality, Ife worries the Changing Man is real—and that she’s next. Ife joins forces with classmate Bijal and Benny, Leon’s younger brother, to uncover the truth about who the Changing Man is and what he wants. Culminating in a detailed, gory, and extended climactic battle, this verbose thriller tempts readers with a nefarious mystery involving racial and class-based violence but never quite lives up to its potential and peters out thematically by its explosive finale. However, this debut offers highly visually evocative and eerie descriptions of characters and events and will appeal to fans of creature horror, social commentary, and dark academia.
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781250868138
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: June 8, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023
Share your opinion of this book
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
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.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.