In this YA novel, a creepy roadside attraction becomes a dangerous catalyst for a teenager, unraveling family secrets.
Sixteen-year-old Nate Cortland eagerly anticipates that his upcoming summer job at the San Francisco Bay Area’s Golden Gate Racquet Club will have a positive effect on his dating life. Those high hopes are dashed when his single mom, a cyberforensics expert, informs Nate and his 11-year-old sister, Lily, that they’ll be spending the summer with Uncle Kevin “just to be on the safe side.” His mom’s sudden “I have a bad feeling” hunches have meant middle-of-the-night moves from one apartment to another before, but she’s never sent them to stay with her brother (“A precarious branch on the family tree,” thinks Nate). Kevin, who lives on the Sacramento River Delta in a Podunk town, runs a weird roadside attraction called the Owl Harbor House of Illusion. Even worse, the siblings’ mom confiscates their cellphones so they won’t be tracked, leaving them at Kevin’s with just a landline and no internet. Throw in the mystery of mom’s disappearance; Nate’s feelings for soulful teen Mia; the seeming emergence of Lily’s psychic abilities; and the House of Illusion’s tie to a legendary treasure and the menacing bumblers who seek it, and the protagonist will have a summer to remember. Anchored by the authenticity of Nate’s voice (observant, salty, and genuinely witty), Polito’s second YA novel is a deft mix of tension, humor, and surprising poignancy, with a “just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t out to get you” twist. The narrative is lively with situational antics and Nate’s penchant for amusing quips, yet his angry anxiety about his mother and his irritation with and protectiveness of his little sister ring true. Also realistic are Nate’s maturing sense of self, evident in his encounters with some dubious local teens, and his changing views of his offbeat family. Mia’s calming presence, hard-won after a personal tragedy that she confides to Nate (and the reason she paints), is a graceful counterpoint.
An engaging and moving blend of comedy, suspense, and a well-defined male teen voice.Pub Date: Nov. 18, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-953944-16-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Wise Wolf Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 8, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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BOOK REVIEW
A treat for mystery readers who enjoy being kept in suspense.
29
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Everyone believes that Salil Singh killed his girlfriend, Andrea Bell, five years ago—except Pippa Fitz-Amobi.
Pip has known and liked Sal since childhood; he’d supported her when she was being bullied in middle school. For her senior capstone project, Pip researches the disappearance of former Fairview High student Andie, last seen on April 18, 2014, by her younger sister, Becca. The original investigation concluded with most of the evidence pointing to Sal, who was found dead in the woods, apparently by suicide. Andie’s body was never recovered, and Sal was assumed by most to be guilty of abduction and murder. Unable to ignore the gaps in the case, Pip sets out to prove Sal’s innocence, beginning with interviewing his younger brother, Ravi. With his help, Pip digs deeper, unveiling unsavory facts about Andie and the real reason Sal’s friends couldn’t provide him with an alibi. But someone is watching, and Pip may be in more danger than she realizes. Pip’s sleuthing is both impressive and accessible. Online articles about the case and interview transcripts are provided throughout, and Pip’s capstone logs offer insights into her thought processes as new evidence and suspects arise. Jackson’s debut is well-executed and surprises readers with a connective web of interesting characters and motives. Pip and Andie are white, and Sal is of Indian descent.
A treat for mystery readers who enjoy being kept in suspense. (Mystery. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-9636-0
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
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This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression.
31
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After surviving a suicide attempt, a fragile teen isn't sure she can endure without cutting herself.
Seventeen-year-old Charlie Davis, a white girl living on the margins, thinks she has little reason to live: her father drowned himself; her bereft and abusive mother kicked her out; her best friend, Ellis, is nearly brain dead after cutting too deeply; and she's gone through unspeakable experiences living on the street. After spending time in treatment with other young women like her—who cut, burn, poke, and otherwise hurt themselves—Charlie is released and takes a bus from the Twin Cities to Tucson to be closer to Mikey, a boy she "like-likes" but who had pined for Ellis instead. But things don't go as planned in the Arizona desert, because sweet Mikey just wants to be friends. Feeling rejected, Charlie, an artist, is drawn into a destructive new relationship with her sexy older co-worker, a "semifamous" local musician who's obviously a junkie alcoholic. Through intense, diarylike chapters chronicling Charlie's journey, the author captures the brutal and heartbreaking way "girls who write their pain on their bodies" scar and mar themselves, either succumbing or surviving. Like most issue books, this is not an easy read, but it's poignant and transcendent as Charlie breaks more and more before piecing herself back together.
This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression. (author’s note) (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-101-93471-5
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2016
Categories: TEENS & YOUNG ADULT FICTION | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT SOCIAL THEMES
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