Skin-tingling, blood-curdling horror perfect for reading by firelight.
All Alva Douglas wants is to survive long enough to escape her Scottish Highland home.
Seven years ago, Da killed Mam. Since that time Alva has lived by a set of rules she created to protect herself. Now, the day when she can secretly escape her small village draws closer; soon she’ll be safely away from her father and the scornful locals. Unfortunately, fate has other plans for the 16-year-old. Human greed is causing the loch levels to lower at an astonishing rate, setting free the òlanfhuil, terrifying, ancient creatures who have been hidden away for centuries. Alva has always known that her father is the Naomhfhuil, or caretaker of the loch. When his crime is finally exposed and Da is at last arrested for Mam’s murder, Alva reluctantly steps into his role, fulfilling the Naomhfhuil’s true purpose: to protect the village from the bloodthirsty òlanfhuil. Narrator Alva is a hero readers will get behind: She is a decisive, take-charge fighter who presses on when she discovers that everything she believed is a lie. The book takes place in an unnamed bygone era, and rich descriptions imbue both the setting and action with cinematic intensity. The characters, especially the almost impossible-to-kill òlanfhuil, who are described in nightmarish detail, come alive on the page. The only thing missing is a Highland bagpipes soundtrack. Assume Whiteness for all characters.
Skin-tingling, blood-curdling horror perfect for reading by firelight. (Horror. 14-17)Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-338-68130-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2020
An overlong but reasonably effective dystopian thriller.
A teen gamer plays for his life.
Miguel Anderson is dying. And so is Earth. In this dystopian future the planet is coming undone, and society distracts itself with virtual-reality games. Winning these games earns players rewards, and Miguel is saving up for a new heart to replace his own malfunctioning one. His favorite game is “Chimera.” When its maker announces a new game and seeks out beta testers, Miguel is chosen to work with a team to conquer the game’s 12 levels. Trevayne milks the VR scenes for all they’re worth, crafting elaborate action sequences and a dread-filled mood. Some of it works, but the trouble with setting most of a book in a computer is the constant reminder that none of the threats are real; the attempt to posit the idea that death in a game leads to real-life death doesn’t really get traction. The second half of the novel pivots into a conspiracy thriller when Miguel becomes aware he and his teammates are being manipulated by the godlike game makers, which ratchets up the tension nicely. The novel is overlong, losing its way in the middle, which is essentially just about a person playing a video game, but the final chapters and explosive finale even things out. Race is not mentioned, but naming conventions that mix ethnicities suggest a fairly blended society.
An overlong but reasonably effective dystopian thriller. (Science fiction. 14-17)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-240876-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An overlong and under-thought sci-fi exercise
A teenager longs for his dead girlfriend.
It’s been one year since Adam’s girlfriend, Marybeth, died in a freak drowning accident. Adam doesn’t mourn alone. Marybeth was known to the world as “Sunshine,” a singer/songwriter who touched the world with her melodies. Adam was her guitarist, joining Sunshine on stage and becoming famous as well, but that fame can’t help him cope with his loss. When a mysterious agency shows up on Adam’s doorstep offering to clone Sunshine and bring her back from the dead, Adam can’t resist helping them reconstruct her memories. Adam soon finds himself on a mysterious Pacific island, surrounded by scientists all day and hanging out with a strange, young woman named Genevieve by night. The unfolding story has a repetitive nature: Adam enters a memory, has reservations, is reassured, repeat. There’s a large valley in the middle where very little happens. As Adam helps rebuild Sunshine’s memories, readers get peeks into the couple’s troubled past, but there’s not much to surprise them in it. The quandary surrounding cloning is poked at here and there, but the conclusion feels inevitable, and readers will get antsy as the author slowly marches toward it. The primary cast seems to be a largely white one.
An overlong and under-thought sci-fi exercise . (Science fiction. 14-17)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-8075-6943-6
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2016
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