A bingeable locked-room thriller.
When a revenge plot goes awry, high school seniors in Virginia find themselves hunted by a killer who may be one of their own.
Since her best friend, Hope, died, Liv Porter has struggled with grief, anxiety, and debilitating panic attacks. The cops ruled Hope’s death a suicide, but Liv suspects that their other best friend, Brendan, was involved. On Halloween evening, she lures him to an isolated house and, with the help of her friends Kizzy and Sherie, sets up a plot to blackmail him into telling the truth. But their plan is derailed when two friends of Brendan’s show up and a storm knocks out the power. And then someone starts killing people, one by one. To get out alive, Liv must face her guilt and confront what really happened the night Hope died. This fast-paced page-turner jumps between past and present, delivering satisfying twists that will keep readers guessing until the end. The story explores heavy themes, including grief, mental illness (depression, bipolar disorder, and anxiety), domestic abuse, and online bullying, though the presentation of mental health feels lacking in depth. However, the characters’ authentic voices make the work accessible and will encourage ongoing discussion. Harris serves up complex, unreliable characters who help create that delightful sense of unease and distrust that makes thrillers so fun. Most characters are Black, and Kizzy, who’s a lesbian, is Black and Chinese American.
A bingeable locked-room thriller. (resources) (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 16, 2025
ISBN: 9780063212671
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.
A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.
Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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