An original exploration of mental health set against an intriguing backdrop.
An anxious girl obtains a lead role in the Halloween play and confronts a legendary curse.
Sixteen-year-old Italian Canadian Violet Costantino and her best friend, Kay, who’s Two-Spirit and cued Cree, are scholarship students at Dark Cove Arts Academy, an elite performing arts boarding school on an island in British Columbia. Following an onstage panic attack the previous year, Violet switched to playwriting. But the required audition for the upcoming season unexpectedly lands her a major role in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and a spot in the Dark Cove Theatre Society, known for hosting secret parties at an abandoned campsite that’s plagued by rumors of a “slasher-type killer” responsible for students having gone missing years ago. Violet, who’s queer, takes the stage with her ex-crush Hunter Kinsey, the school’s golden boy, and Frankie Lin, the popular “resident ingenue,” who simultaneously irritates and impresses her. Mysterious events lead to Violet’s becoming the suspected target of the Society curse, whose victim is destined to drop out before opening night. Violet must avoid the curse, navigate complicated love triangles (on- and offstage), cope with mental health challenges, and resolve a fight with Kay. Although the plotlines wrap up a bit too quickly, this debut with gothic touches centers on diverse, well-developed teens who challenge their school’s narrow norms. Riley’s detailed worldbuilding creates a setting that readers will wish to explore more deeply than the story allows.
An original exploration of mental health set against an intriguing backdrop. (map, director’s note, playlist) (Fiction. 13-17)Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781834020099
Page Count: 280
Publisher: Annick Press
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
Mercurial and cartoonishly violent but enjoyable thanks to its exuberance.
The lives of two high school students become intertwined as trails of pain and destruction are left in their wake following the All-City Karate Tournament.
It’s love at first sight for awkward Benjamin Harrison High student Don Jones when he’s pitted against Lincoln High’s Samantha Steadman for a shot at the finals in the local karate tournament. After Sam quickly defeats Don, he asks her on a date, and the two instantly connect, leading to a follow-up at prom. All is well until Don’s murderous ex-girlfriend, Astor Violenzia, shows up to the after-party, and chaos ensues. Broken into three unpredictable and highly energetic acts—with key and unexpected moments occurring off page—the story feels like a playful tribute to ’80s pop culture that’s gone off the rails. The dramatic fight sequences offer a head nod to Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim series. The violence, which drives the story forward, can come across as gratuitous but is in line with the narrative’s cheeky nature, while the characters subvert the expectations of their stereotypes. Fiery orange coloring and plentiful action lines match the story’s fast pace. Sam has light blond hair and tan skin; Don has brown skin and Afro-textured hair. Diverse body types and skin tones are represented among the cast members.
Mercurial and cartoonishly violent but enjoyable thanks to its exuberance. (Graphic fiction. 13-17)Pub Date: May 7, 2024
ISBN: 9781250868657
Page Count: 176
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2024
A solid, warmhearted Sapphic romance showing how joy emerges when the bullies aren’t in charge.
Sixteen-year-old Ellie Young, bullied in middle school for her then-undiagnosed autism, believes she’s solved her social life challenges.
Following her rules (like “Rule #4: Always keep the topic of the conversation on the other person”)—even when that means hiding her true self, as her therapist points out—at least leads to people treating her “like a human being.” So it’s unfair when her boyfriend, Daniel Solomon, dumps her, drunkenly telling everyone she lacks personality. He’d invited her to attend beach volleyball camp, and even though she doesn’t enjoy kissing him and is strangely unbothered about the breakup, she plans to use the camp to make him want to get her back—proving that he was wrong about her being “cute but boring.” Ellie and her social circle at school are cued white; her group of new camp friends comprise a mix of religions, ethnicities, races, sexualities, and gender expressions. Also unlike school, at camp “the people who normally hide in the shadows to protect themselves get to live a little without constantly being judged.” The biggest complication is Sierra Levine, the white-presenting daughter of a beach volleyball legend. Ellie can’t understand why she’s so drawn to Sierra—until she finally gets it, complicating everything. Although the secondary characters are minimally developed, the pacing is nice and light. Schae’s pleasant debut offers a humane, compassionate view of teens supporting each other in pain and joy.
A solid, warmhearted Sapphic romance showing how joy emerges when the bullies aren’t in charge. (Romance. 14-16)Pub Date: May 12, 2026
ISBN: 9798217033263
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2026
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