A tense teen thriller that is half mind-game, half misery lit—call it 50 Shades of Grey Area.
Predators become prey in this private school novel.
Kate O’Brien is the new scholarship student at Waverly Academy in New York City, but she’s also a seasoned con artist armed with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, and she intends to do anything and use anyone in order to get away from her past and into Yale. Kate targets Olivia Sumner in order to get out of poverty and in with the popular girls, but she finds her cold calculations tempered by friendship. Kate’s first-person narration proudly details her manipulative methods (with flashbacks to a traumatic childhood that offers motive), while the third-person voice in Olivia’s chapters goes from detached to disjointed as she pops Ativan like Altoids but slowly spills her secrets. Kate and Olivia, both white, think they can swim with the sharks, yet both are outclassed when a man complicates matters, and only Kate can see the sociopath beneath the suave charm. Shallowly drawn schoolmates are also saddled with enough psychological issues to fill Kate’s beloved DSM but otherwise fulfill rich-girl, private school stereotypes and provide background color. Toten’s use of sexual predation and parental abuse as plot devices is problematic, but she also delivers a social-climbing satire with a ridiculous resolution, making for a reading experience that feels simultaneously riveting and like rubbernecking.
A tense teen thriller that is half mind-game, half misery lit—call it 50 Shades of Grey Area. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: May 31, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-553-50790-4
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2016
A fast-paced, attention-grabbing boarding school murder mystery.
Two high school seniors with very different motives reluctantly join forces when two of their classmates are murdered.
Amy Alterman considers herself lucky to have had Sarah Oliver in her life. Since they were in their first year at Meadowbrook Academy—a prestigious institution for the children of the extremely wealthy—the soccer besties have been inseparable. Liz Charles, who attends Meadowbrook on scholarship, doesn’t have any close friends on campus, but she does have the Meadowbrook Gazette, the school’s online newspaper. Liz is determined to make a name for herself in journalism no matter the cost. So, when Sarah and her boyfriend, Ryan Pelham, are found brutally murdered in Sarah and Amy’s dorm room, Liz excitedly breaks the story without considering the consequences. Amy, who soon becomes her classmates’ prime suspect, desperately tries to clear her name while also protecting her “townie” boyfriend, Joseph Stone. In this plot-driven page-turner, Liz and Amy are thrown together despite their mutual distrust as they try to figure out who really committed the heinous double murder. The unlikely companions discover that the truth isn’t easy to find and that even the people they trust the most are likely hiding something. This compelling novel will keep readers guessing, as the narrative moves steadily toward its satisfying conclusion. Central characters are cued white; Amy’s Jewish identity is skillfully and naturally woven into the story.
A fast-paced, attention-grabbing boarding school murder mystery. (Mystery. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9780593698716
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2024
A warm, optimistic transgender coming-of-age and queer romance.
Sixteen-year-old Miles has two goals for the year: beat his rival at the Tri-State Piano Competition and win back his ex-boyfriend.
Miles Jacobson, a White trans boy from Wisconsin, had been dating Shane McIntyre for a year before Miles came out and Shane broke up with him. He believes that if Shane really loved him, his gender shouldn’t matter. But Miles’ New Year’s resolution to win Shane back is complicated by the arrival of Eric Mendez, a cute Latine guy who actually is queer and also likes Miles. As Miles works toward his piano goals with Stefania Smith, his demanding new teacher, a romance blossoms with Eric—even though Miles still has Shane on the brain. Underhill makes it clear in a preface that this is a joyful queer story, and it lives up to that promise. The book captures the delight of being not just accepted, but also understood—as well as the pains of being misunderstood. It celebrates Miles’ real triumphs, from finding a suit that fits to mastering a Tchaikovsky concerto. Miles is likable and relatable as he tries to discover who he is on his own terms, not based on what others think of him. The author has chosen to include Miles’ birth name prominently; this is uncomfortable but realistic for someone early in his transition. The supporting characters, especially Stefania, are well developed and bring life to Miles’ world.
A warm, optimistic transgender coming-of-age and queer romance. (author's note) (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 14, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-250-83520-8
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2022
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