An odd but ambitious cross-genre thriller in search of an ideal crossover reader.
Four teens stranded in the Alaskan wilderness find themselves sabotaging a foreign occupation.
Rising high school senior and cross-country standout Josh is days away from leaving his mountainside leadership camp when an earthquake buries everything. Only Derrick, Brooke, and Shannon—who, like Josh, were away from the main camp—survive. When time passes and help doesn’t arrive, the Fairbanks quartet sets off toward a distant town, hoping for rescue along the way. Early on, the text offers what readers would expect from Greci (The Wild Lands, 2019, etc.). Much like the environment it describes, Josh’s play-by-play first-person narration is simultaneously stark and lush. The group learns to collaborate while staving off the threats of dehydration, starvation, animals, fire, injuries, and allergic reactions. Dialogue expands from curt to compelling, and characters balloon into distinct, believable personalities. Suddenly, about halfway through, the text takes a turn from slow-burn survival to plodding geopolitical intrigue. After the earthquake, a Russian army somehow invaded Alaska, subdued its population, and gained control of its nuclear arsenal. Those missiles are now trained on the Lower 48 states, and the American government must either acquiesce to Russian demands or nuke its own people. Can Josh and company demolish a bridge to help save not only themselves, but the entire free world? Excepting Shannon, who is Athabascan, protagonists are white. The concerns of Native people are treated in an offhand manner.
An odd but ambitious cross-genre thriller in search of an ideal crossover reader. (Adventure. 12-17.)Pub Date: Jan. 28, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-18462-7
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Imprint
Review Posted Online: Nov. 6, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A trilogy opener both rich and strange, if heavy at the front end.
Riggs spins a gothic tale of strangely gifted children and the monsters that pursue them from a set of eerie, old trick photographs.
The brutal murder of his grandfather and a glimpse of a man with a mouth full of tentacles prompts months of nightmares and psychotherapy for 15-year-old Jacob, followed by a visit to a remote Welsh island where, his grandfather had always claimed, there lived children who could fly, lift boulders and display like weird abilities. The stories turn out to be true—but Jacob discovers that he has unwittingly exposed the sheltered “peculiar spirits” (of which he turns out to be one) and their werefalcon protector to a murderous hollowgast and its shape-changing servant wight. The interspersed photographs—gathered at flea markets and from collectors—nearly all seem to have been created in the late 19th or early 20th centuries and generally feature stone-faced figures, mostly children, in inscrutable costumes and situations. They are seen floating in the air, posing with a disreputable-looking Santa, covered in bees, dressed in rags and kneeling on a bomb, among other surreal images. Though Jacob’s overdeveloped back story gives the tale a slow start, the pictures add an eldritch element from the early going, and along with creepy bad guys, the author tucks in suspenseful chases and splashes of gore as he goes. He also whirls a major storm, flying bullets and a time loop into a wild climax that leaves Jacob poised for the sequel.
A trilogy opener both rich and strange, if heavy at the front end. (Horror/fantasy. 12-14)Pub Date: June 7, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-59474-476-1
Page Count: 234
Publisher: Quirk Books
Review Posted Online: March 30, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Despite some missteps, this will appeal to readers who enjoy a fresh and realistic teen voice.
A teenage, not-so-lonely loner endures the wilds of high school in Austin, Texas.
Norris Kaplan, the protagonist of Philippe’s debut novel, is a hypersweaty, uber-snarky black, Haitian, French-Canadian pushing to survive life in his new school. His professor mom’s new tenure-track job transplants Norris mid–school year, and his biting wit and sarcasm are exposed through his cataloging of his new world in a field guide–style burn book. He’s greeted in his new life by an assortment of acquaintances, Liam, who is white and struggling with depression; Maddie, a self-sacrificing white cheerleader with a heart of gold; and Aarti, his Indian-American love interest who offers connection. Norris’ ego, fueled by his insecurities, often gets in the way of meaningful character development. The scenes showcasing his emotional growth are too brief and, despite foreshadowing, the climax falls flat because he still gets incredible personal access to people he’s hurt. A scene where Norris is confronted by his mother for getting drunk and belligerent with a white cop is diluted by his refusal or inability to grasp the severity of the situation and the resultant minor consequences. The humor is spot-on, as is the representation of the black diaspora; the opportunity for broader conversations about other topics is there, however, the uneven buildup of detailed, meaningful exchanges and the glibness of Norris’ voice detract.
Despite some missteps, this will appeal to readers who enjoy a fresh and realistic teen voice. (Fiction. 13-16)Pub Date: Jan. 8, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-282411-0
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
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