A jaw-dropping second installment ready for a third.
The perilous intricacies of espionage run deeper than ever in this high-octane sequel.
After a harrowing and nearly fatal start to junior year, Nadia Riley returns along with her team of fellow teens, Jack, Libby, Alan, and brazen new student Simon, for their second semester at Desert Mountain Academy. No sooner do things get back to normal— “normal” being relative in a CIA black ops training program—than the threats and the traitor, Damon Moore, from the start of the year return. Damon is desperate for Nadia’s help—so desperate that he is willing to share information about impending dangers and truths that will shatter the world as Nadia knows it. Stone (Desert Dark, 2016) holds true to her diverse cast of teens (Irish-Lebanese-American Nadia, dark-skinned Damon, Israeli-American Alan, and neurodivergent Libby are joined by out-and-audacious Simon). The alternating third-person narration is used to explore the individual plot intrigues surrounding each team member, not only showcasing fascinating and lethal minutiae of intelligence operations, but also exploring the complex web of secrets that intertwines each individual with their family and each other. Character development and beyond-stereotype representations are sacrificed for hairpin plot twists and heart-stopping tension as the narrative barrels toward a conclusion that reveals explosive secrets. While a strong spy narrative, the inclusion of diverse identities here is not well-crafted, unfortunately reinforcing negative representation.
A jaw-dropping second installment ready for a third. (Thriller. 12-16)Pub Date: July 31, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-8234-3836-5
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: April 29, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
Despite some missteps, this will appeal to readers who enjoy a fresh and realistic teen voice.
A teenage, not-so-lonely loner endures the wilds of high school in Austin, Texas.
Norris Kaplan, the protagonist of Philippe’s debut novel, is a hypersweaty, uber-snarky black, Haitian, French-Canadian pushing to survive life in his new school. His professor mom’s new tenure-track job transplants Norris mid–school year, and his biting wit and sarcasm are exposed through his cataloging of his new world in a field guide–style burn book. He’s greeted in his new life by an assortment of acquaintances, Liam, who is white and struggling with depression; Maddie, a self-sacrificing white cheerleader with a heart of gold; and Aarti, his Indian-American love interest who offers connection. Norris’ ego, fueled by his insecurities, often gets in the way of meaningful character development. The scenes showcasing his emotional growth are too brief and, despite foreshadowing, the climax falls flat because he still gets incredible personal access to people he’s hurt. A scene where Norris is confronted by his mother for getting drunk and belligerent with a white cop is diluted by his refusal or inability to grasp the severity of the situation and the resultant minor consequences. The humor is spot-on, as is the representation of the black diaspora; the opportunity for broader conversations about other topics is there, however, the uneven buildup of detailed, meaningful exchanges and the glibness of Norris’ voice detract.
Despite some missteps, this will appeal to readers who enjoy a fresh and realistic teen voice. (Fiction. 13-16)Pub Date: Jan. 8, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-282411-0
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
Though it lacks references or suggestions for further reading, Arn's agonizing story is compelling enough that many readers...
A harrowing tale of survival in the Killing Fields.
The childhood of Arn Chorn-Pond has been captured for young readers before, in Michelle Lord and Shino Arihara's picture book, A Song for Cambodia (2008). McCormick, known for issue-oriented realism, offers a fictionalized retelling of Chorn-Pond's youth for older readers. McCormick's version begins when the Khmer Rouge marches into 11-year-old Arn's Cambodian neighborhood and forces everyone into the country. Arn doesn't understand what the Khmer Rouge stands for; he only knows that over the next several years he and the other children shrink away on a handful of rice a day, while the corpses of adults pile ever higher in the mango grove. Arn does what he must to survive—and, wherever possible, to protect a small pocket of children and adults around him. Arn's chilling history pulls no punches, trusting its readers to cope with the reality of children forced to participate in murder, torture, sexual exploitation and genocide. This gut-wrenching tale is marred only by the author's choice to use broken English for both dialogue and description. Chorn-Pond, in real life, has spoken eloquently (and fluently) on the influence he's gained by learning English; this prose diminishes both his struggle and his story.
Though it lacks references or suggestions for further reading, Arn's agonizing story is compelling enough that many readers will seek out the history themselves. (preface, author's note) (Historical fiction. 12-15)Pub Date: May 8, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-06-173093-1
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 20, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2012
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