A transporting, nostalgic adventure that will entertain teen and adult readers alike.
Three teens embark on a dangerous quest that tests their friendship in this YA novel.
In 1987 in Burghville, New York, Amanda Brooks, Skye Krause, and Marcy Mason are sophomores at Mid Valley High. Each girl deals with a disturbing aspect of her life. Amanda has anxiety; Skye’s veteran father disappeared after a violent episode; and Marcy’s mother has cancer. One day, the girls meet outside for lunch. Marcy explains her fascination with a hiking spot in the wooded mountains of the Hudson Valley that involves a decrepit mansion. Instead of spending Halloween indoors watching It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, they agree to find the mansion of Theodore R. Van Barren Bowls, a scientist who vanished in 1957. Their imaginations blaze with the possibility that his secret laboratory contains a time machine. They also create the cover story of a sleepover for their parents because sneaking onto the state-owned property isn’t legal. After Skye’s cousin Charlemagne drops them off at the trail in her Buick Beast, the girls begin hiking toward a transmission tower near the mansion. From there, they’ll encounter wildlife, hazardous obstacles, and unsavory strangers on a journey that may or may not yield the treasured experience they’re hoping for. Connelly’s adventure brims with realism and nostalgia, creating a heady mix for readers who came of age in an era before social media. The mainstream heyday of heavy metal culture is portrayed in character sketches; student Tony Vito, for example, can’t attend a concert that’s part of the band Slayer’s Reign in Blood tour because he broke his ankle jumping from the school’s bathroom window. The protagonists and the secrets they keep are exceptionally drawn, like Amanda, who has a crush on Mr. West, a teacher (“He’s a dream”); and Skye, who listens to Elton John. The Hudson Valley’s natural beauty is juxtaposed against striking elements like the Manhattan skyline. Brief flash-forwards prove poignant as readers learn just how much this hike meant to the girls as they became women. The author’s skill in conjuring this particular time and place through vibrant characters should leave readers eager for his next novel.
A transporting, nostalgic adventure that will entertain teen and adult readers alike.Pub Date: Nov. 16, 2020
ISBN: 979-8479751011
Page Count: 162
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Aug. 4, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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
This story is necessary. This story is important.
Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter is a black girl and an expert at navigating the two worlds she exists in: one at Garden Heights, her black neighborhood, and the other at Williamson Prep, her suburban, mostly white high school.
Walking the line between the two becomes immensely harder when Starr is present at the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend, Khalil, by a white police officer. Khalil was unarmed. Khalil’s death becomes national news, where he’s called a thug and possible drug dealer and gangbanger. His death becomes justified in the eyes of many, including one of Starr’s best friends at school. The police’s lackadaisical attitude sparks anger and then protests in the community, turning it into a war zone. Questions remain about what happened in the moments leading to Khalil’s death, and the only witness is Starr, who must now decide what to say or do, if anything. Thomas cuts to the heart of the matter for Starr and for so many like her, laying bare the systemic racism that undergirds her world, and she does so honestly and inescapably, balancing heartbreak and humor. With smooth but powerful prose delivered in Starr’s natural, emphatic voice, finely nuanced characters, and intricate and realistic relationship dynamics, this novel will have readers rooting for Starr and opening their hearts to her friends and family.
This story is necessary. This story is important. (Fiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-249853-3
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2016
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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