A diverting fusion of paranormal intrigue and adolescent woes that stumbles a bit along the way.
In Karim’s YA fantasy novella, an aloof, psychically gifted teen slowly adjusts to a new high school.
Thirteen-year-old Junky Font starts his sixth-grade year at Akitsalohks in the fantastical realm of Bongosland. He’s a “lone wolf” at school and, in little time, the regular target of a couple of bullies. He also becomes completely smitten at first sight with a girl named Hesuna; her hotheaded boyfriend just adds to Junky’s growing troubles. On the other hand, Mrs. Nutak Arivnat, the head of sixth grade, seems taken with Junky. She promises to stay mum about his pursuit of Hesuna (which apparently violates school policy) but asks that he spy for her, covertly keeping his eyes on rival gangs The Illegals and The Legals. Meanwhile, Junky hopes to show off his music skills at Akitsalohks’s upcoming concert. When someone close to one of his friends is abducted, his gift of clairvoyance is put to the test—and as he soon learns, he’s not the only psychic at his school. Karim’s story, which kicks off a trilogy, initially moves at a brisk pace: Junky quickly falls in love, bumps elbows with gangsters, and even gets in a fistfight. But the narrative slows as characters discuss, rather than show, their special abilities and spend their time debating family histories and past events. While the author maintains a simple and taut writing style, a number of expressions are either clunky (“Junky kept on her trails”) or redundant (“intuitive hunch”). Still, surprises abound throughout the narrative, including copious revelations, a potential betrayal, sudden appearances by a mythical creature, and magical candies. The cast is memorable, with such standouts as Arivnat, who becomes both a mentor and a maternal figure to Junky, and Nonirp Qah, Junky’s neighborhood best friend and sounding board.
A diverting fusion of paranormal intrigue and adolescent woes that stumbles a bit along the way.Pub Date: Jan. 16, 2025
ISBN: 9798891324749
Page Count: 156
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 3, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in.
Black is back with another dark tale of Faerie, this one set in Faerie and launching a new trilogy.
Jude—broken, rebuilt, fueled by anger and a sense of powerlessness—has never recovered from watching her adoptive Faerie father murder her parents. Human Jude (whose brown hair curls and whose skin color is never described) both hates and loves Madoc, whose murderous nature is true to his Faerie self and who in his way loves her. Brought up among the Gentry, Jude has never felt at ease, but after a decade, Faerie has become her home despite the constant peril. Black’s latest looks at nature and nurture and spins a tale of court intrigue, bloodshed, and a truly messed-up relationship that might be the saving of Jude and the titular prince, who, like Jude, has been shaped by the cruelties of others. Fierce and observant Jude is utterly unaware of the currents that swirl around her. She fights, plots, even murders enemies, but she must also navigate her relationship with her complex family (human, Faerie, and mixed). This is a heady blend of Faerie lore, high fantasy, and high school drama, dripping with description that brings the dangerous but tempting world of Faerie to life.
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-31027-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
A taut yet winding mystery that will keep readers guessing.
In this thriller, a flyer on the cheer team at her small-town Texas high school is dragged back into the awful events that claimed her best friend and her boyfriend.
Senior Iris Henley was horrified when her boyfriend, Rocky Koenig, and her former best friend, Lynette Zeiger, were found dead in a presumed murder-suicide the previous school year. She and Lynette, whose drug use was spiraling out of control, had already fallen out, but Iris had no idea Rocky was cheating on her with Lynette. But when anonymous social media posts claim that Iris herself is responsible for their deaths, her life becomes a nightmare of accusations and betrayal. Employing first-person, present-tense narration that feels immediate and anxious, this mystery builds steadily over the course of 25 days during which Iris feels increasingly desperate and unsure whom she can trust. Her troubled relationships with her friends and family are multidimensional and render her a sympathetic and likable narrator, who worries about her own reliability as she was drunk and high the night of the deaths. In particular, a subplot involving Iris’ growing understanding of her younger sister, Noelle, lends emotional depth to this whodunit. The central cast is white, and surnames suggest that some members of the supporting cast are Latine, including Iris’ best friend.
A taut yet winding mystery that will keep readers guessing. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2026
ISBN: 9781250323835
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2025
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