A dramatic and unsettling thriller that will draw in and maintain the attention of striving readers.
This AI app is almost too good to be true.
Ruby Brookes, a 14-year-old British girl, lives for drama. She desperately wants to become a star of stage and screen and is looking forward to spending the summer at a performing arts camp with best friend Deva Shah, who’s a dancer. Ruby often draws attention to herself, which can get her into trouble at school and alienate her peers. Because her grades are abysmal in every class except drama, her mother insists that she improve academically, or she won’t be going to camp. Deva is in the same position with her mother, but recently she’s been doing surprisingly well at school. Deva confesses to Ruby that she’s been using a “super-beta version” of the AI app EchoStar, which is based on technology developed by MI6. Ruby gets the app for herself, but what follows is an ever-worsening series of calamities that threaten her friendship with Deva and violate her privacy. Salisbury presents a tense, high-stakes narrative that explores manipulation and the dangers of the internet. The book’s brevity, dyslexia-friendly font, and punchy, fast-paced chapters make this a dramatic read that supports struggling readers. Ruby is cued white, and Deva presents South Asian.
A dramatic and unsettling thriller that will draw in and maintain the attention of striving readers. (Thriller. 13-17)Pub Date: April 7, 2026
ISBN: 9781454962830
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Union Square & Co.
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2026
Mercurial and cartoonishly violent but enjoyable thanks to its exuberance.
The lives of two high school students become intertwined as trails of pain and destruction are left in their wake following the All-City Karate Tournament.
It’s love at first sight for awkward Benjamin Harrison High student Don Jones when he’s pitted against Lincoln High’s Samantha Steadman for a shot at the finals in the local karate tournament. After Sam quickly defeats Don, he asks her on a date, and the two instantly connect, leading to a follow-up at prom. All is well until Don’s murderous ex-girlfriend, Astor Violenzia, shows up to the after-party, and chaos ensues. Broken into three unpredictable and highly energetic acts—with key and unexpected moments occurring off page—the story feels like a playful tribute to ’80s pop culture that’s gone off the rails. The dramatic fight sequences offer a head nod to Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim series. The violence, which drives the story forward, can come across as gratuitous but is in line with the narrative’s cheeky nature, while the characters subvert the expectations of their stereotypes. Fiery orange coloring and plentiful action lines match the story’s fast pace. Sam has light blond hair and tan skin; Don has brown skin and Afro-textured hair. Diverse body types and skin tones are represented among the cast members.
Mercurial and cartoonishly violent but enjoyable thanks to its exuberance. (Graphic fiction. 13-17)Pub Date: May 7, 2024
ISBN: 9781250868657
Page Count: 176
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2024
Chilling and suspenseful, with just the right number of twists.
If your friend’s dead body falls in the woods and nobody is around to see which of you pulled the trigger, what will your story be?
In an after-party haze of booze and drugs, five white, wealthy best friends go hunting in the River Point woods—only four return. With one of the boys, Grant, shot dead in an apparent accident and no one willing to admit responsibility, Logan, Henry, John Michael, and Shep vow to keep silent in order to protect their remaining group and the killer among them. But secrets have a way of burrowing through bonds, and the tightknit foursome, dubbed the River Point Boys, has already started to unravel. Meanwhile, budding photojournalist and white senior Kate Marino is interning at the district attorney’s office, where her boss is assigned the River Point case. The DA wants the case to disappear quietly, but Kate is determined see justice done. As she assists with examining the boys’ behavior during interrogations and in person, she discovers that nothing about the case, the suspects, or even her own connection to the boys is what it seems. The narration alternates between Kate’s fervent suspicions and a River Point Boy’s cold manipulation, leaving readers to wade through the many vengeful motives that spill from a wellspring of affluence, privilege, and corruption.
Chilling and suspenseful, with just the right number of twists. (Mystery. 13-17)Pub Date: Nov. 15, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4847-3089-8
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2016
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