Next book

SPECIAL DEAD

Another fire-and-brimstone end sets up a third outing; fans will be slavering for it

Just because Ani is a zombie doesn’t mean she’s not entitled to a free and appropriate education, right?

A little over a year after the Prompocalypse that left 26 dead and 10—eight students and two teacher chaperones—infected with the Chinese weaponized zombie virus that wiped out Los Angeles, the kids are going back to school. Thanks to the efforts of Dr. Banerjee and Ani’s mom, Dr. Romero, they’ve been kept successfully undead, and as long as the courts are undecided as to their humanity, their old school has to educate them. Kind of. They are segregated in a “Special Dead” classroom, must wear helmets and mouth guards, and are allowed only crayons to write with. A flamethrower-armed guard is on duty at all times to turn any suddenly violent zombie into a heap of ash. Freivald follows up his successful debut, Twice Shy (2012), with an equally enjoyable sequel. He populates the Special Dead classroom with a terrific mix of personalities, including both high achievers and kids in genuine need of special ed. That one of these is Mike, Ani’s crush from the first book whose brain she partially ate, triggering the Prompocalypse, is especially poignant. As in the first book, dark humor balances deftly with out-and-out horror, the mundane realities of undeath providing ample opportunity for both.

Another fire-and-brimstone end sets up a third outing; fans will be slavering for it . (Horror. 14 & up)

Pub Date: July 12, 2013

ISBN: 978-1-936564-80-4

Page Count: 260

Publisher: JournalStone

Review Posted Online: May 21, 2013

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2013

Next book

THE CHANGING MAN

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

Next book

BOYS WITH SHARP TEETH

An intensely dark debut that’s focused on style over substance.

Desperate to avenge her murdered cousin, a girl assumes a false identity and infiltrates his boarding school to uncover the truth.

Three days ago, Marin James’ cousin, Sam Bullvane, died. Sam was her best friend, her port in the storm as she grew up in their tiny mountain town with a uninterested father and an absent mother. Though his death was assumed to be an accidental drowning due to an overdose, Marin knows Sam was murdered. Now she’s determined to find the culprits and make them pay. Assuming the fake identity of Jamie Vane and enrolling in Huntsworth Preparatory Academy are easier than expected. But ingratiating herself with Sam’s former friends—and murder suspects—proves riskier. Quiet girl Baz Hallward feels like the easiest mark. Henry Wu is all games, tinged with danger. And Adrian Hargraves, with his perfect face, initially wants nothing to do with Marin—and she immediately loathes him. As her investigation deepens, she enters a heated entanglement with Henry and Adrian, while uncovering their secrets. Mirrors show her supernatural horrors, and she’ll have to confront them, too, if she wants to learn the truth. Marin’s early sleuthing sings with tension, but aimless philosophical musings and twists that attentive readers will see coming make it unravel quickly. Overwrought language obscures the escalating danger. Most characters present white; Henry’s surname implies Asian heritage.

An intensely dark debut that’s focused on style over substance. (Paranormal mystery. 14-18)

Pub Date: April 8, 2025

ISBN: 9781250334596

Page Count: 400

Publisher: Roaring Brook Press

Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025

Close Quickview