An interesting premise that fails to deliver.
The town of Devil’s Elbow, Pennsylvania, has its very own Loch Ness monster type of creature called Old Lucy.
The legend of Old Lucy and the ongoing sightings are what have kept tourists visiting and the town thriving while neighboring towns have fallen onto hard times. Lemon’s family has been secretly responsible for keeping the legend alive by impersonating Old Lucy for generations, and now it’s her turn to take over the family business. Like any high school senior, Lemon has her plans, and sticking around to keep being a fake lake monster is not one of them. But everything Lemon thought she knew about monsters changes when Devil’s Elbow experiences a freak earthquake. The following day, Lemon and her dogs have a terrifying encounter with a real-life monster in the lake. Unfortunately, unlike Old Lucy, this is no cute purple serpent. This behemoth is hungry and ready to eat its way through the population of Devil’s Elbow. The first-person narration alternates between Lemon, who’s coded white, and Troy Ramirez, her best friend and love interest, who’s cued Latine. Though the setup is original and intriguing, the book doesn’t hit its mark: The author juggles too much in too short a space. Some of the plot twists and secrets are easily identifiable, while others come completely out of left field. None of the characters feel fully complete, and the sense of urgency in the story arrives too late.
An interesting premise that fails to deliver. (Horror. 13-18)Pub Date: July 2, 2024
ISBN: 9780744309584
Page Count: 304
Publisher: CamCat Books
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2024
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
Heart-pounding.
A gay, transgender brujo with burgeoning powers seeks answers about his cousin’s death.
Sixteen-year-old Yadriel also wishes for acknowledgement from his community but unexpectedly finds himself entangled in the unresolved wishes of a strong-willed, good-looking spirit. He descends from a long line of brujx who have been granted magic power by Lady Death to heal the living and to guide spirits into the afterlife. Although he’s grown up surrounded by a close-knit community, Yadriel feels alone, excluded indefinitely from a sacred rite of passage because he is transgender. When he senses that his cousin Miguel has died suddenly but the family can’t locate him, Yadriel sees an opportunity to prove to everyone he’s a true brujo by solving the mystery and releasing his cousin’s lost spirit. His plan quickly falls apart, as he accidentally summons the spirit of Julian Diaz, a boy with unfinished business who died the same day as Miguel. Both the romance and mystery burn slow and hot until the climax. Stakes begin high, and the intensity only increases with a looming deadline and a constant risk that Julian might lose himself, turning maligno. The cast of characters represents a diversity of Latinx identities sharing a community in East Los Angeles. Julian is Colombian while Yadriel is Cuban and Mexican. Their romance provides joyful, ground-breaking representation for gay, transgender boys.
Heart-pounding. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-25046-9
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Swoon Reads/Macmillan
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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