Enjoyably atmospheric.
Sixteen-year-old Cara Tang has been able to see ghosts since she was a child, but her power is more a burden than a blessing.
Raised by Laolao, her late grandmother, who is both a ghost and a powerful ghost speaker, and her anxious, protective single mother, who has repressed her own ability to see ghosts, Chinese American Cara feels caught between the two women, unable to fully embrace or reject her ghost-speaking inheritance. When she stumbles across the snake-bitten corpse of Zach Coleson, a handsome, wealthy, and irritating white boy who’s been her rival since childhood, she turns to Laolao for help. Her grandmother informs Cara of the existence of the Signet Snake, a harbinger of destruction whose lethal bite can be undone within seven days using antivenom from the snake’s counterpart residing in the liminal world. Zach’s ghost agrees to Cara’s bargain—$12,000 and a college recommendation letter from his influential dad in return for his resurrection—and the two set off on a dangerous journey across magical landscapes. Cara’s also contending with a growing awareness that her feelings for Zach—an unexpectedly resourceful and protective adventuring partner—might burn hotter than mere annoyance. Aside from a sprinkling of Chinese lore and original mythology, this ornately written debut focuses on themes of legacy and self-acceptance through Cara’s internal struggle with being a ghost speaker. The romantic tension running throughout is palpable but needs a little more substance to make the leads’ attraction feel completely convincing.
Enjoyably atmospheric. (Paranormal. 13-18)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9780063252769
Page Count: 368
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 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
BOOK REVIEW
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes.
The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.
Paedyn Gray witnessed the king kill her father five years ago, and she’s been thieving and sleeping rough ever since, all while faking Psychic abilities. When she inadvertently saves the life of Prince Kai, she becomes embroiled in the Purging Trials, a competition to commemorate the sickness that killed most of the kingdom’s Ordinaries. Kai’s duties as the future Enforcer include eradicating any remaining Ordinaries, and these Trials are his chance to prove that he’s internalized his brutal training. But Kai can’t help but find Pae’s blue eyes, silver hair, and unabashed attitude enchanting. She likewise struggles to resist his stormy gray eyes, dark hair, and rakish behavior, even as they’re pitted against each other in the Trials and by the king himself. Scenes and concepts that are strongly reminiscent of the Hunger Games fall flat: They aren’t bolstered by the original’s heart or worldbuilding logic that would have justified a few extreme story elements. Illogical leaps and inconsistent characterizations abound, with lighthearted romantic interludes juxtaposed against genocide, child abuse, and sadism. These elements, which are not sufficiently addressed, combined with the use of ableist language, cannot be erased by any amount of romantic banter. Main characters are cued white; the supporting cast has some brown-skinned characters.
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9798987380406
Page Count: 538
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
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