Following a fairly familiar course until its sudden closing twist, this debut from actor/screenwriter Foyt tracks a teenager’s grief after her mother’s sudden death, and her stubborn resistance to the new woman with whom her father has quickly taken up. Lexie may be a true computer geek, as well as a classic outsider whose only confidante (at the outset, at least) is an online buddy whose real identity will quickly become obvious to readers, but she also has an uncommon ability to read people. That ability tells her that there’s something not quite right about the perky, capable and seemingly friendly Jane. Foyt writes in a third-person, not-quite-stream-of-consciousness style that drags rather than propels the story, but in Lexie she creates an appealingly sullen adolescent to whom cyberspace is the key to a realer Reality than the “Bubble” in which everyone else is trapped, and she keeps readers guessing about Lexie’s suspicions until the very end. Readers will also wonder until the climax whether Lexie’s online conversations with her mother and other souls are real or imaginary—real, as it turns out, and a setup for possible sequels. Lexie is no Holden Caulfield, but mildly alienated teens may find her a kindred spirit. (Fantasy. YA)
Pub Date: March 13, 2007
ISBN: 0-06-082563-4
Page Count: 320
Publisher: HarperTempest
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2007
BOOK REVIEW
A taut yet winding mystery that will keep readers guessing.
In this thriller, a flyer on the cheer team at her small-town Texas high school is dragged back into the awful events that claimed her best friend and her boyfriend.
Senior Iris Henley was horrified when her boyfriend, Rocky Koenig, and her former best friend, Lynette Zeiger, were found dead in a presumed murder-suicide the previous school year. She and Lynette, whose drug use was spiraling out of control, had already fallen out, but Iris had no idea Rocky was cheating on her with Lynette. But when anonymous social media posts claim that Iris herself is responsible for their deaths, her life becomes a nightmare of accusations and betrayal. Employing first-person, present-tense narration that feels immediate and anxious, this mystery builds steadily over the course of 25 days during which Iris feels increasingly desperate and unsure whom she can trust. Her troubled relationships with her friends and family are multidimensional and render her a sympathetic and likable narrator, who worries about her own reliability as she was drunk and high the night of the deaths. In particular, a subplot involving Iris’ growing understanding of her younger sister, Noelle, lends emotional depth to this whodunit. The central cast is white, and surnames suggest that some members of the supporting cast are Latine, including Iris’ best friend.
A taut yet winding mystery that will keep readers guessing. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2026
ISBN: 9781250323835
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2025
A fun premise that misses the mark a few too many times.
Ex-boyfriends Lukas and Jeremy will each do anything to become homecoming king.
Lukas, a White cisgender boy, and Jeremy, a White transgender boy, were the picture-perfect football player and cheerleader couple at their exclusive private school—until Jeremy began transitioning and broke up with Lukas. Now Lukas, who is autistic, wants to prove himself to his ableist family, and Jeremy seeks validation as a man. Both see winning homecoming king as the key to their dreams, which include admission to prestigious colleges. Jeremy’s confidence and strong gay identity make him an enjoyably unusual trans male character, and discussions of gender identity throughout are interesting and current. Though Jeremy’s desire to enter the world of rich White men may be understandable, the dynamics of these wealthy teenagers’ underlying privilege are underdeveloped. The text acknowledges their socio-economic advantages, but Jeremy still bemoans being “stuffed full of privilege in every way but the one that matters most,” forcing readers to ponder which privilege “matters most,” a subject that could have been richly explored. The book also presents some stereotypes without irony, like the Asian best friend whose cultural texture does not extend beyond having harshly controlling and perfectionist parents and the college dropout with two jobs and criminal tendencies. Lukas is sympathetic, but Jeremy’s antisocial behaviors render him unlikable, without enough growth for a satisfying redemption.
A fun premise that misses the mark a few too many times. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 18, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-62512-0
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: March 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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