by Norah McClintock & illustrated by Mike Deas ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2012
Bodies pile up around Boone like he's some teenage Jessica Fletcher, straining credulity but not sparking much interest.
If it means putting yourself in danger, do you have to come forward as a witness?
Teenager David Boone and his friend Robbie witness a brutal murder. Boone talks Robbie out of going to the cops, and a few days later, Robbie’s killed in a drive-by. Boone and their friend Andre witness Robbie’s killing, but neither is willing to talk to the cops. When Boone is wounded and Andre killed at Robbie’s funeral, Boone is well and truly scared. Boone’s classmates call him coward; his dad sends him to a therapist. Detective Rylander practically begs him for help, but it takes another, unrelated murder to prompt Boone to come forward as a witness. Award-winning, Canadian writer of teen thrillers McClintock tries her hand at the graphic format with mixed results. Boone’s reasons for not coming forward are complex and interesting, but most of the supporting cast members are one-dimensional. The mystery Boone solves surrounding the unrelated murder will engage more than Boone’s repeated resistance to being a witness. Deas’ scratchy, mostly black-and-white panels look more like sketchbook filler than finished work; the characters are often hard to identify, and their emotions, not to mention ages, are difficult to gauge. However, the use of red as an accent in moments of violence is effective.
Bodies pile up around Boone like he's some teenage Jessica Fletcher, straining credulity but not sparking much interest. (Graphic thriller. 13 & up)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-55469-789-2
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: Sept. 11, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2012
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by Scott Reintgen ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 28, 2023
Truly fantastic.
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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
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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
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