A zippy, gripping psychological drama.
This compelling debut follows the efforts of a girl who’s fascinated with a serial killer.
Lane, 17, knows she’s disturbed. She has virtually no emotions and finds herself fascinated with the Decapitator, the serial killer her mother, a behavioral analyst at the FBI, has been tracking for years. Lane secretly works to discover the killer’s identity—until the killer begins to contact her personally. He appears to know everything about her, sending private letters that Lane does not turn over to the FBI. Meanwhile, Lane beings to act as a vigilante, wreaking vengeance on unpunished criminals—a rapist found not guilty, a boy who harms animals—becoming known, to her irritation, as the Masked Savior. She’s also crushing on the veterinarian she works for, finally dating his younger brother Zach, an experience that demonstrates she has some emotions after all, especially when the Decapitator appears to be someone far closer to her than she had realized. But who? Green keeps the narrative humming along, unfolding events through her psychologically damaged narrator’s eyes and deepening the mystery until events roar to a climax. The story works as much as a character study of Lane as it does an effective thriller. Red herrings abound as readers, along with Lane, begin to understand that she isn’t quite as unemotional or as ruthless as she had previously believed.
A zippy, gripping psychological drama. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: May 6, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4814-0285-9
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.
A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.
Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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