History and mystery meld beautifully in this ghost story with depth.
A ghost plagues a native Mainer as she struggles to unearth the tragic secrets of the spirit’s demise.
White teen Rilla Brae mourns the recent loss of her father and continues his work as a lobsterman off the coast of Maine. She’s been accepted to college, but with no one to take care of her grandmother—the last remaining member of her family—it’s tough to leave home. One day, after setting her pots, she spots a young African-American girl on nearby Malaga Island—she’s singing. But the girl vanishes, and Rilla can’t tell if she was a hallucination. She wasn’t—the girl is a ghost, and she haunts Rilla, scratching messages on her windowsill. Meanwhile, Rilla becomes close to Sam, a white college student conducting research on Malaga. As the ghost intensifies her demands, Rilla and Sam piece together the tragedy that befell her community. Residents of Rilla’s town forcibly evicted the islanders, committing some to institutions. As Rilla digs deeper, she learns about more horrors the townspeople committed in the name of racism—and the strong ties this history has to her own family. Based on true events, the story Rilla unearths is more haunting than any ghost (although the widespread use in Maine schools of Gary D. Schmidt’s 2003 middle-grade novel about the expulsion of Malaga’s residents, Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy, makes it hard to believe Rilla wouldn’t have been familiar with it already). An evocative backdrop of life as a lobsterman grounds the supernatural elements, and Rilla’s steeliness shines—she’s the kind of captain readers will eagerly follow.
History and mystery meld beautifully in this ghost story with depth. (author’s note, sources) (Paranormal suspense. 14-18)Pub Date: Aug. 22, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4814-8204-2
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: April 30, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes.
The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.
Paedyn Gray witnessed the king kill her father five years ago, and she’s been thieving and sleeping rough ever since, all while faking Psychic abilities. When she inadvertently saves the life of Prince Kai, she becomes embroiled in the Purging Trials, a competition to commemorate the sickness that killed most of the kingdom’s Ordinaries. Kai’s duties as the future Enforcer include eradicating any remaining Ordinaries, and these Trials are his chance to prove that he’s internalized his brutal training. But Kai can’t help but find Pae’s blue eyes, silver hair, and unabashed attitude enchanting. She likewise struggles to resist his stormy gray eyes, dark hair, and rakish behavior, even as they’re pitted against each other in the Trials and by the king himself. Scenes and concepts that are strongly reminiscent of the Hunger Games fall flat: They aren’t bolstered by the original’s heart or worldbuilding logic that would have justified a few extreme story elements. Illogical leaps and inconsistent characterizations abound, with lighthearted romantic interludes juxtaposed against genocide, child abuse, and sadism. These elements, which are not sufficiently addressed, combined with the use of ableist language, cannot be erased by any amount of romantic banter. Main characters are cued white; the supporting cast has some brown-skinned characters.
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9798987380406
Page Count: 538
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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