A thriller that fails in cohesiveness and forward momentum
Muslim teen Salma Bakkioui, a hacker and high school senior, experiences the fallout from growing Islamophobia in her neighborhood and at school.
Salma has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and lives with her mother (a white Muslim convert), father (who is North African Berber), paternal grandmother, and two younger sisters. First she must say goodbye to her best friend, Mariam Muhammad, whose family moves to Dubai because anti-Muslim sentiment makes it hard for her father to make a living in Arlington, Virginia. Then, following explosions in Washington, D.C., and a bomb threat at school, Salma and her boyfriend, Amir, become suspects. Meanwhile, new white neighbors have moved into the Muhammads’ old house next door, and although they seem very nice, Salma has her suspicions. She takes on the seemingly impossible and very risky task of investigating who is framing her and Amir. York Lumbard’s (The Gift of Ramadan, 2019, etc.) characters are not fully developed: Salma exhibits little growth or change over the course of the story, and Amir’s lack of flaws makes him feel two dimensional. There is a lack of consistency when it comes to defining Islamic terms. While the author correctly clarifies that “Allahu akbar” is “completely nonthreatening,” the assertion that it is “not always religious. Sometimes it’s just the equivalent of yelling ‘Awesome!’ ” is questionable. The novel moves slowly, with numerous digressions that are not well integrated and that pull readers away from the main storyline.
Pub Date: Feb. 11, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-525-64425-5
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
The Phantom of the Opera served as inspiration, but this wouldn’t last on Broadway.
Stephanie and her family move into an old mansion rumored to have been put under a curse after a turn-of-the-20th-century rich boy meddled with an Egyptian mummy.
After her young sister complains about strange events, high school student Stephanie befriends Lucas, a geeky, good-looking boy, and meets the other members of SPOoKy, the Scientific Paranormal Organization of Kentucky: Charlotte, Wes, and Patrick. Stephanie learns the history of her new home from Lucas, who attracts her romantic attention, but the usually levelheaded girl is soon drawn to Erik, the handsome phantom who first comes to her in dreams. The story is told in chapters narrated by Stephanie, Lucas, and Zedok, whose identity is initially a source of confusion to Stephanie. Zedok appears wearing different masks, “personified slivers” of his soul, representing states of mind such as Wrath, Madness, and Valor. Meanwhile, until gifted singer Stephanie came along and he could write songs for her, Erik’s dreams were thwarted; he wanted to be a composer but his family expected him to become a doctor. In the gothic horror tradition, Erik’s full background and connection with Zedok are slowly revealed. Romantic dream sequences are lush and swoon-y, but the long, drawn-out battle to end the curse, aided by a celebrity clairvoyant, is tedious, and the constant introduction of Erik’s different personae is confusing. Most characters default to White; Patrick is Black.
The Phantom of the Opera served as inspiration, but this wouldn’t last on Broadway. (Horror. 13-16)Pub Date: Aug. 17, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-11604-3
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
Chilling and suspenseful, with just the right number of twists.
If your friend’s dead body falls in the woods and nobody is around to see which of you pulled the trigger, what will your story be?
In an after-party haze of booze and drugs, five white, wealthy best friends go hunting in the River Point woods—only four return. With one of the boys, Grant, shot dead in an apparent accident and no one willing to admit responsibility, Logan, Henry, John Michael, and Shep vow to keep silent in order to protect their remaining group and the killer among them. But secrets have a way of burrowing through bonds, and the tightknit foursome, dubbed the River Point Boys, has already started to unravel. Meanwhile, budding photojournalist and white senior Kate Marino is interning at the district attorney’s office, where her boss is assigned the River Point case. The DA wants the case to disappear quietly, but Kate is determined see justice done. As she assists with examining the boys’ behavior during interrogations and in person, she discovers that nothing about the case, the suspects, or even her own connection to the boys is what it seems. The narration alternates between Kate’s fervent suspicions and a River Point Boy’s cold manipulation, leaving readers to wade through the many vengeful motives that spill from a wellspring of affluence, privilege, and corruption.
Chilling and suspenseful, with just the right number of twists. (Mystery. 13-17)Pub Date: Nov. 15, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4847-3089-8
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2016
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