An eerie tale offering equal measures of fright, angst, and emotional catharsis.
Just over 200 years ago, a ship arrived at a small seaside community in Maine carrying human passengers who had lost their memories—and the monster that had stolen them.
Now, 17-year-old Alana Harlow, whose ancestor magically trapped the Memory Eater in sea caves, is the last Harlow in Whistler Beach. After her grandmother’s death, Alana took on the responsibility of maintaining the Memory Eater’s seal—rocks revealed at low tide that must be fed with blood from the Harlow family line. She also runs the family business, taking clients to the Memory Eater’s cave to have unwanted memories removed and supervising the process to make sure each person emerges safely. After suffering a terrible accident in the cave a few months prior, Alana is desperate to prove herself to the town council, but when she realizes that gaps in her memory can’t simply be attributed to trauma, she confronts the Memory Eater only for the creature to overwhelm her and escape from its prison. Central to this haunting, emotionally driven narrative are the mingled themes of grief, love, and selfishness, all of which bear down on Alana as she tries to fix her mistakes and shoulder her guilt alone. The cast members, who are diverse in race and sexual identity, are vividly drawn. White, bisexual Alana’s relationships with her best friend and ex-girlfriend, both of whom support and care for her, are particularly compelling.
An eerie tale offering equal measures of fright, angst, and emotional catharsis. (Fabulism. 13-18)Pub Date: March 14, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-52460-2
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet if muddled tale of the magic of Appalachia.
A teenage witch goes up against the evil king of the mountain to save a cursed village.
Witch-in-training Verity Vox has spent a year apiece in different villages, helping in any way she can as she learns her art. When it’s time to move on, she receives a sign that shows her where to go next. When the latest sign appears in the form of a note begging for help that floats down on a leaf, she’s eager for the challenge. Verity winds up in Foxfire, a village in the Appalachian mountains that’s been magically cut off from the rest of the world for years, leaving its people close to starvation. The root of their suffering is a man they know as Earl, who lives in the hills and strikes deals with the townspeople that ultimately cause crops to wither, folks to disappear, and the only bridge out of the valley to crumble. Verity is determined to change the villagers’ fortunes, but to do so she’ll have to face off against not just Earl but the ancient power of the mountains itself. Loosely based on the Germanic Erlking legend and told in a voice reminiscent of folktales, the story features a queer romance and a cast that presents white. The convoluted magic system undercuts the strong themes of reciprocity, poverty, and privilege, but Appalachian readers will instantly recognize home.
A sweet if muddled tale of the magic of Appalachia. (Fantasy. 13-18)Pub Date: Aug. 5, 2025
ISBN: 9798890032706
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Page Street
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
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
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