An appealing choice for readers who like their mysteries with a side of romance.
A Michigan girl takes on her father’s unsolved murder in this romantic thriller that begins and ends with a bang.
After bullets shatter her living room windows, killing her police officer father, high school junior Kate’s life changes forever. As he lies dying, Dad gives her a piece of paper, issuing a cryptic warning: “Don’t read it…Don’t show anyone. Burn it.” Kate does get rid of the paper—but only after reading it. When she and her mom are allowed back in the house to collect some possessions, she stumbles upon $250,000, stashed in her guitar case. Fearing that her father was a thief, she hides the cash in a safe place. When Kate’s mom is offered a spring semester teaching position at a private school for competitive athletes in Vermont, the change feels like a respite from the trauma. Kate quickly settles into her new environment and even falls for a handsome skier named Ryan. But when people involved in her dad’s murder investigation wind up dead, Kate realizes that she’s in grave danger and must act. The novel’s pacing is a bit bumpy, ranging from slow to frenetic, but the payoff at the end is worth it. The characters are sympathetic and likable, and the development of the protagonists, who are coded white, is solid. Kate and Ryan’s whirlwind relationship is a testament to the power of first love.
An appealing choice for readers who like their mysteries with a side of romance. (Mystery. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2024
ISBN: 9781643974033
Page Count: 236
Publisher: BHC Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.
A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.
Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A lukewarm thriller.
In England, a group of teenagers tries to stay alive when a long weekend in an abandoned castle goes wrong.
When Bessie and her friends decide to join a party their classmate Allegra is throwing in her family’s abandoned castle before it’s converted into apartments, they think the biggest issues they’ll face are making it there before a big storm hits and keeping their plans secret from their parents and teachers. Once they arrive at the castle, however, Bessie and best friend Kashvi discover menacing graffiti and evidence that someone has been staying in the cellar. They also learn that protestors from the nearby village are angry about the development plans for the castle—one of them even argues that it would be better to burn it down. A handful of classmates manage to get there before the storm gets too severe. But when the teens wake up the next day to discover one of their own dead, and the storm makes it impossible for them to leave, they quickly realize that they’re in danger. But is the killer one of the members of the Facebook protestors’ group…or one of their own? Despite the book’s intriguing setup, the prose is dominated by repetitive conversations that convey little substance. Still, readers may still find themselves propelled forward by a need to discover the identity of the murderer. The central cast is racially diverse.
A lukewarm thriller. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Dec. 3, 2024
ISBN: 9780593704080
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
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