An atmospheric, mind-bending novel that examines the complexities of grief.
An ancient curse haunts a Kenyan girl’s return to school in Mbengei’s novel debut.
Sixteen-year-old Shani Bara, a student at Taji Academy, recently lost her father. Ever since, she’s been haunted by the image of Papa’s wrecked Mercedes, which collided with a strangler fig tree. Legends say that strangler figs grow in places “where a life was unjustly taken.” Shani’s return to her exclusive boarding school, which is located on 100 acres with a forest and manicured lawns, is complicated by her dramatically reduced circumstances. Worse, a terrifying night runner repeatedly appears outside her bedroom window, disrupting her sleep and threatening her ability to get good enough grades to study medicine at the University of Cape Town. Night runners are rumored to be those marked by a strangler fig after spilling innocent blood. While the school administration and some students think pranksters are responsible, Shani and housemistress Mrs. Nuru believe otherwise. As the number of sightings increases and mean girl Adila goes missing, Principal Kavia, convinced that Shani is disturbed and acting out, threatens to revoke her scholarship if she doesn’t reveal Adila’s whereabouts. As Shani investigates what happened to her classmate, she learns a chilling truth. The story’s horror elements, including the skillful incorporation of the strangler fig lore, will keep readers on the edges of their seats. Mbengei effectively blends genres, combining the supernatural with a gripping mystery in this strongly paced story with broad appeal.
An atmospheric, mind-bending novel that examines the complexities of grief. (Horror. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2026
ISBN: 9781641297509
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Soho Teen
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2026
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
A high-concept premise that falls short in its execution.
A teenage girl finds herself alone after everyone else in her town mysteriously disappears, leaving her scrambling to figure out how to find them all.
One late summer day, everybody in July Fielding’s town disappears. She is left to piece together what happened, following a series of cryptic signs she finds around town urging her to “GET THEM BACK.” The narrative moves back and forth between July’s present and the events of the summer before, when her relationship with her best friend, cross-country team co-captain Sydney, starts to fracture due to a combination of jealousy over July’s new relationship with a cute boy called Sam and sweet up-and-coming freshman Ella’s threatening to overtake Syd’s status as star of the track team. The team members participate in a ritual in which they jump off a cliff into the rocky waters below at the end of their Friday practice runs. Though Ella is reluctant, Syd pressures her to jump. Short, frenetically paced sections move the story along quickly, and there is much foreshadowing pointing to something terrible that occurred at the end of that summer, which may be the key to July’s current predicament, but there is much misdirection too. Ultimately this is a story without enough setup to make the turn the book takes in the end feel fully developed or earned. All characters read white.
A high-concept premise that falls short in its execution. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 19, 2023
ISBN: 9780593327173
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2023
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