Haunting and spellbinding.
When a religious cult threatens everything they know, former friends Wil’s and Elwood’s purposes collide.
In the small Michigan town of Pine Point, 18-year-old Wilhelmina Greene’s mom has been missing for a year, and everyone, including the local police, thinks she left voluntarily. Wil, on the other hand, is certain that her ex–best friend, Elwood; his father, local preacher Pastor Clarke; and Elwood’s ultrareligious family and church are involved. Channeling her journalist mother’s investigative skills, Wil refuses to give up, determined to find answers on her own. Meanwhile, 17-year-old Elwood has done his best to follow the path his parents have laid out for him even though it meant losing Wil’s friendship. When he finds out that his parents have never truly loved him and in fact have been planning to sacrifice him for their cause, he flees, joining forces with Wil and their friends to find answers. Together, Wil and Elwood learn that everything they thought they knew was a lie, and they are in more danger than they could have imagined. Arndt’s sparkling prose deftly explores the complicated nature of loyalty and religion against the lush background of the forests of the Upper Peninsula. The mythology of the town and its founders is compelling and convincing, setting up the history for the story at hand. Main characters are cued White.
Haunting and spellbinding. (Horror. 13-18)Pub Date: Aug. 29, 2023
ISBN: 9780593526279
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: April 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
With a refreshingly original concept, this substantial fantasy, the first in a duology, is an undeniable page-turner
In Tiny Pretty Things co-author Clayton’s solo debut, beauty comes at a price.
On their joint 16th birthday, Camellia and her five sisters are sent out to restore beauty to Orléans, where everybody is born gray and ugly. They’ve been training for this their whole lives. As Belles, the sisters can use their magic to transform the citizens of Orléans from their original states. For the right price, Belles can grant any desired look. When Camellia secures the coveted spot of Her Majesty’s favorite, it seems as if her dreams have come true. As the most powerful, sought-out Belle, she is in charge of the royal family’s looks. However, the princess is insatiable in her quest for beauty and will do anything to get it—even if it means endangering the Belles and the kingdom—and Camellia may be the only one who can stop her. Not only that, but Camellia finds herself slowly uncovering the secrets of the Belles’ origin, and it’s not as pretty as she was taught. With wonderfully descriptive language, Clayton builds a grand and lavish world, carefully chipping away at the veneer to reveal its dark, sinister interior. In a world where anyone can change their skin color as often as they can change their hair color, race is fluid. Camellia is brown, and her sisters are various shades of brown and pale.
With a refreshingly original concept, this substantial fantasy, the first in a duology, is an undeniable page-turner (. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4847-2849-9
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Freeform/Disney
Review Posted Online: Nov. 12, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2017
SEEN & HEARD
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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