by Rektok Ross ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 26, 2021
Brace for impact readers, this YA thriller holds little back.
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A group of teens gets trapped in the woods during a snowstorm in Ross’ YA thriller.
Sam is a senior at Seaside High. She and her brother Stuart, a sophomore, are driving with their friends in the Sierra Nevada mountain range of Northern California. They’re headed toward a cabin owned by the family of Gavin, Stuart’s best friend, for a ski weekend. Also in the SUV are Lily, Stuart’s girlfriend; Britney, Seaside’s most popular cheerleader; Hunter, an irrepressible flirt; and Champion the dog. When a snowstorm closes the main road, Hunter suggests a detour. Unfortunately, their vehicle swerves on black ice and lodges in a snow bank. With no cell service, the teens pray that a search party will find them before they run out of food and gas (to heat the truck). Complicating matters is the concussion Lily suffered in the crash. After a night’s sleep, she slips into a coma. In the cramped, stressful environment, the teens’ true selves emerge. Ross offers YA readers genuinely diverse characters, each of whom continues to grow throughout the narrative. Lily is Chinese, Hunter is African American, Britney is a devoted Christian, and Sam is vegetarian. Pop culture mavens will enjoy Stuart’s obsession with what might be lurking outside, like zombies, werewolves, or even ax murderers. As the teens learn, however, “The wilderness has transformed from a non-sentient place into...a stalking predator that lives and breathes and kills.” Before real tragedy strikes, the cast shares in-depth discussions on Black cowboys, fur farming, the value of religion, and much more. Ross is also unafraid to lean into controversial stereotypes—as when Lily says, “I’m not above eating dog”—only to later dismantle them. Sam and Gavin’s romantic backstory, elaborated in flashbacks, adds further emotional urgency to events. The dark finale allows just enough room for a sequel.
Brace for impact readers, this YA thriller holds little back.Pub Date: Oct. 26, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-68-463109-4
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Spark Press
Review Posted Online: June 14, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by Rektok Ross
by Laura Nowlin ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 6, 2024
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind.
In this companion novel to 2013’s If He Had Been With Me, three characters tell their sides of the story.
Finn’s narrative starts three days before his death. He explores the progress of his unrequited love for best friend Autumn up until the day he finally expresses his feelings. Finn’s story ends with his tragic death, which leaves his close friends devastated, unmoored, and uncertain how to go on. Jack’s section follows, offering a heartbreaking look at what it’s like to live with grief. Jack works to overcome the anger he feels toward Sylvie, the girlfriend Finn was breaking up with when he died, and Autumn, the girl he was preparing to build his life around (but whom Jack believed wasn’t good enough for Finn). But when Jack sees how Autumn’s grief matches his own, it changes their understanding of one another. Autumn’s chapters trace her life without Finn as readers follow her struggles with mental health and balancing love and loss. Those who have read the earlier book will better connect with and feel for these characters, particularly since they’ll have a more well-rounded impression of Finn. The pain and anger is well written, and the novel highlights the most troublesome aspects of young adulthood: overconfidence sprinkled with heavy insecurities, fear-fueled decisions, bad communication, and brash judgments. Characters are cued white.
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind. (author’s note, content warning) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781728276229
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
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by Laura Nowlin
by Holly Jackson ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 2, 2024
Readers will be captivated by this twisty thriller and its uncompromising protagonist.
The mother Annabel Price thought was dead returns with a story about where she’s been—but 18-year-old Bel knows she’s lying.
Ever since Rachel Price’s unexplained disappearance 16 years ago, true-crime fans have come up with plentiful theories about what happened. Bel and her family members, who are white, cobbled together lives for themselves after a jury found Bel’s father, Charlie, not guilty of murdering his wife. Beset with medical bills for his elderly father, Charlie recently agreed to participate in a documentary about the unsolved mystery. Black British filmmaker Ramsey Lee is well into the process of interviewing the Prices when his project gets an unanticipated boost after an exhausted, disheveled Rachel staggers back into town. Rachel is eager to resume her role in the family, but the inconsistencies in her accounts raise alarms for Bel. With the help of the youngest member of the filmmaking team, Bel sets out to learn what really happened. Along the way, someone else disappears, and Bel uncovers a tangle of lies that make it impossible for her to trust people she thought she knew. When things come to a head the night of her grandfather’s 85th birthday party, Bel ends up in a race for her life. The last quarter of the novel tears along at a breakneck pace before arriving at a satisfying and unexpected conclusion.
Readers will be captivated by this twisty thriller and its uncompromising protagonist. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 9780593374207
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
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