A strong premise that does not deliver the expected punch.
A Hollywood TV crew descends upon Kisapmata, a cursed island in the Philippines, to film a show.
Even though the locals will not go there, the cast and crew remain greedily determined to make a blockbuster series focused on the Godseye, a haunted cave at the center of the island where murders have been documented. Reuben Hemslock, a pompous survivalist actor, leads the effort, doggedly bent on the presumed success it will bring to his reputation, which has been tainted by abuse accusations from a number of women. Also present are two executive producers (one with his teen son in tow) and an extensive crew who impose their infrastructure and their cultural chauvinism—“This island is almost perfect….Add a Panera and I’d be all set,”—on the deserted locale. Well, almost deserted. Alon, a local teen known as a “ghost whisperer,” cautiously agrees to be their tour guide in exchange for $10,000 to help his ailing father. Alon warns them that they should not be there, but the crew persists even as danger inevitably strikes. Chupeco creates an environment thick with mystery, full of haunting balete trees and eerie ghost sightings coupled with a legend that dates to Spanish colonization of the Philippines. However, the story remains frustratingly flat due to one-dimensional characterization; the story features deplorable adult characters and a forced chemistry between the two teens. Excepting Alon, all characters are presumed White; Alon is nonbinary.
A strong premise that does not deliver the expected punch. (Horror. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-72825-591-0
Page Count: 332
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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