An emotionally rich, immersive narrative that unflinchingly explores power and the weight of wanting to be seen.
A high school cheerleading captain seeks to regain her throne—no matter the cost—after an addition to the squad threatens her influence.
Maris Larsen knows she’s going to die in her podunk hometown of West Eaton. College isn’t an option. Her mother’s depression has made her a ghost, and her situationship hookup, Nell, will be leaving after graduation without a second glance. The only thing that gets Maris out of bed is cheerleading—the physical catharsis of pushing her body to the limit. Students and adults alike treat Maris, who’s cued Black, as a troubled pariah, but cheerleading offers a refuge where she can feel free as her team’s idolized captain. When Genevieve Ray, who presents Black, moves to West Eaton and joins the squad, Maris’ standing is challenged. How can she reclaim her authority? Opportunity arrives one night while Maris is sleepwalking, in the form of Doe, an ancient creature resembling a deer. Unaware of the being’s origins and true intentions, Maris confides in it, sealing her path and Genevieve’s fate. Barrow’s novel in verse intriguingly blends supernatural lore with the cutthroat social politics of teenage girlhood. Evocative sections depict the hive mind of the team, and Doe’s perspective poetically captures the creature’s decades of loneliness and isolation. Maris’s strong characterization showcases a commonality with Doe: the ache for autonomy and control in a world eager to deliver pain and punishment.
An emotionally rich, immersive narrative that unflinchingly explores power and the weight of wanting to be seen. (Verse horror. 13-18)Pub Date: June 23, 2026
ISBN: 9798217006335
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Review Posted Online: March 23, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 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
Lush, angsty, queer horror.
When the monsters they imagine come to life, two boys fight for their lives—and each other.
Andrew Perrault, who’s from Australia, writes beautiful, macabre fairy tales. His roommate at his American boarding school, Wickwood Academy, is talented artist Thomas Rye, who brings his stories to vivid life in paint and charcoal. Andrew’s twin sister, Dove, is all but ignoring him, so he has plenty of time to focus on Thomas’ increasingly odd behavior. Thomas’ parents disappeared just before the new school year started, and Andrew noticed blood on his roommate’s sleeve on their first day back. When he follows Thomas into the forest one night, Andrew discovers him fighting one of the monsters that Thomas has drawn from these stories. The boys soon find themselves coping with vicious bullies by day and fighting monsters by night. At the same time, Andrew struggles to reconcile his feelings for Thomas with his growing awareness of his own asexuality. But when the sinister Antler King breaches Wickwood’s walls, Andrew realizes that he and Thomas may not survive their own creations. This novel, written in rich, extravagant prose, features frank portrayals of disordered eating, self-harm, bullying, and mental illness. Andrew grapples realistically with his sexual identity, and the story has ample genuinely creepy moments with the monsters. Andrew, Thomas, and Dove are white.
Lush, angsty, queer horror. (content warning) (Horror. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 29, 2024
ISBN: 9781250895660
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
