Sherman Mack, dorky ninth-grader and girl enthusiast, turns detective when his crush seems on the verge of being D-listed: If a girl’s photo appears on bathroom mirrors with a circled letter D, she’s immediately rendered invisible. These D-listed, Defiled girls roam the halls like sad ghosts. Many simply disappear. To find out who’s behind the Defilings, Sherman takes cues from his friend Vanessa’s collection of detective stories and starts sleuthing. Delightful noir motifs distinguish the tale: Sherman, like a hard-nosed private eye, stakes out and interrogates suspects; Vanessa plays Sherman’s no-nonsense sidekick—a buxom broad with arched eyebrows and curves that won’t quit. As always, Juby endows her endearing characters with quirky, comedic voices and original backgrounds. Sherman’s commitment to the Defiled girls remains believable throughout, not just a lark or ploy to get ladies. When Vanessa’s photo appears on a mirror, he knows he has to close the case to save her. Sherman’s cooking-class exam—a dinner party—brings the prime suspects and Defiled girls together for a delicious final act. (Fiction. 12 & up)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-06-076525-5
Page Count: 352
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2008
A razor-sharp sequel exceeding the previous installment’s high expectations.
Three months after helping the FBI bring down the Berryville Butcher in None Shall Sleep (2020), college students Emma Lewis and Travis Bell reunite on a new case with a chilling connection to Emma’s past.
Emma was the sole survivor of serial killer Daniel Huxton, who died three years ago in 1979. Her insights from that experience proved invaluable to the FBI’s fledgling Behavioral Science department in their hunt for the Butcher. Now, the department is investigating murders in Pittsburgh that bear a resemblance to Huxton’s M.O. Despite her distrust of the bureau, Emma figures that consulting on this case in hopes of saving other girls is preferable to chafing in protective custody until the copycat is caught. Travis is now in part-time training at Quantico, and there’s another familiar face there—that of Kristin Gutmunsson, whose sociopathic twin, Simon, played a critical role in the Butcher case. Enigmatic Kristin volunteers her own insights—plus Simon’s cooperation—in hopes of reducing her brother’s death sentence to life in prison. The rich, engaging narrative jumps among the three young people, employing taut, restrained language laced with a pervasive feeling of dread as the stakes escalate. While the fast pace and morbidly fascinating subject keep the pages turning, the book’s thoughtful exploration of intense trauma, PTSD, and therapy-informed treatment centers survivors and keeps the story grounded. Emma and Kristin are White; Travis is Mexican American.
A razor-sharp sequel exceeding the previous installment’s high expectations. (author’s note) (Thriller. 13-18)Pub Date: June 6, 2023
ISBN: 9780316487719
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2023
Fans of empowering feminist fairy-tale retellings will love this.
Four reimagined fairy-tale heroines must confront their inner demons to break a curse.
Ella, Yuki, and Rory attend the prestigious Grimrose Académie for Elite Students in the Swiss Alps. They are currently grieving the death of one of their best friends, and while Ari’s death by drowning has been deemed either an accident or suicide, her closest friends have their doubts. When they find an old book of fairy tales hidden in Ari’s things, full of strange annotations in her handwriting, the girls start working—along with new student Nani—to investigate Ari’s suspicious death. As they put together the pieces and discover other deaths that happened at Grimrose, they start to wonder if there was magic involved in Ari’s death—magic that may also be at the core of their very lives, cursing them to unhappy endings. Grief, identity, and friendship intersect in this enthralling mystery with dark magical undertones that ingeniously plays with fairy-tale tropes to tell a feminist story about empowerment and grappling with how to break away from the confines of societal expectations of girls. Reminiscent of the works of Anna-Marie McLemore and Elana K. Arnold, this book ends with the promise of more to come. The main cast is queer and features diversity in disability and mental health. Rory and Ella default to White; Yuki’s name cues her as Japanese, and Nani is Black and Native Hawaiian.
Fans of empowering feminist fairy-tale retellings will love this. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 26, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-72822-887-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2021
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