A broad but shallow story redeemed by strong characterization.
Five New England boarding school juniors are drawn into investigating an unsettling mystery after witnessing a celestial phenomenon in this duology opener.
Deja Freeman is a reluctant transfer student at Tanglewood Preparatory School—one with a temper and preternatural abilities. Nevertheless, she makes an unexpected friend in socially anxious computer whiz Eden Lovejoy, another Black girl from Louisiana. Hoping to finally earn her Nigerian parents’ praise, ambitious overachiever Olúwatóbi “Tóbi” Ẹkúndayọ̀ is set on her fifth class presidency. Unluckily, her longtime academic rival, Monte Montalvo, who’s white, catches her breaking the rules and blackmails her into dropping out of the race. A lost and dejected Tóbi finds an unlikely friend in flighty, rule-flouting Fabien Clarke-Reynolds, “the biracial love child of the British royal family,” who awkwardly comforts her. After they find a golden, glowing meteorite in the woods, the five must solve the mystery revealed by their persistent psychic dreams. Despite this intriguing premise, Sangoyomi’s debut is light in both mystery and the supernatural yet simultaneously overstuffed with underexplored strands, including racial discrimination, classism, drug use, and familial conflict. Fortunately, the strong characterization and relationship development counterbalance this. In particular, Tóbi’s quest for parental acknowledgement is relatable to anyone who’s ever chronically overachieved to meet impossible standards, and Deja’s journey to find relationships worth nurturing is heartwarming. Overall, the three-dimensional, realistically flawed characters display gratifying growth, and their interactions are entertaining.
A broad but shallow story redeemed by strong characterization. (Mystery. 13-18)Pub Date: Oct. 13, 2026
ISBN: 9798890034465
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Page Street
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
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
Entertaining, heartfelt, and suspenseful: a superb addition to a beloved series.
Eighteen-year-old sleuth Stevie Bell is back to investigate another mystery in this stand-alone addition to the Truly Devious series.
Stevie is nursing a broken heart following her recent split from boyfriend David. Fed up with her parents’ lack of understanding and support—they regard her interest in solving murders as “creepy” and “weird”—she announces that she’s not coming home for Christmas. But now she’s at a loose end; spending winter break “alone on murder mountain” at Ellingham Academy, her Vermont boarding school, doesn’t seem ideal. So when the opportunity arises to accompany her close friend Nate to New York City, she willingly agrees. The third-person chapters switch between Stevie’s contemporary experience among a group of eccentric, often-clashing residents of a Manhattan apartment building and a young woman named Blue who becomes entangled in a cult in the 1970s. A trail of clues is laid that Stevie can’t resist following. Readers will be kept guessing how the intertwining storylines fit together until the very end. The novel expands to explore Stevie’s relationships and growth, including her ongoing management of her anxiety disorder. The marvelously clever dialogue, abundance of heart, and witty, memorable, and well-rounded cast elevate this beyond standard mystery fare. Both timelines establish the New York City setting as its own character. Stevie and Blue read white.
Entertaining, heartfelt, and suspenseful: a superb addition to a beloved series. (map) (Mystery. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2026
ISBN: 9780063256019
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2026
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