It takes a while, but this should please horror fans.
It all comes together in the end in this exploration of a cult, but readers may wonder where this story is going until that point.
Seventeen-year old Harlow is the adopted daughter of the Patriarch of VisionCrest, a new religion so successful it claims one-quarter of the world’s population as followers. More interested in punk rock than religion, Harlow believes her father has simply invented the whole thing. As the story progresses, Harlow begins to understand that her father, if anything, has toned things down. As the presumed goddess that began it all decides to reassert herself, Harlow keeps hearing a female voice telling her to kill and has horrible visions of massacres all around her. As the leaders of the cult, along with Harlow and her friends, travel from Tokyo to Beijing, Harlow begins to realize that her father may not be in control. Worse, as she fights to find the secret source of the cult’s power, she ends up learning more about herself than she wanted to know. Miller presents an interesting, if gruesome, premise and leaves readers with a nifty ending that may just make the whole thing worth it. The path to that point seems a bit slippery, though, as she never really immerses readers in the cult, leaving readers without a solid anchor to the story.
It takes a while, but this should please horror fans. (Horror. 12 & up)Pub Date: March 8, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-7387-3721-8
Page Count: 312
Publisher: Flux
Review Posted Online: Dec. 10, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter.
After a Nigerian British girl goes off to an exclusive boarding school that seems to prey on less-privileged students, she discovers there might be some truth behind an urban legend.
Ife Adebola joins the Urban Achievers scholarship program at pricey, high-pressure Nithercott School, arriving shortly after a student called Leon mysteriously disappeared. Gossip says he’s a victim of the glowing-eyed Changing Man who targets the lonely, leaving them changed. Ife doesn’t believe in the myth, but amid the stresses of Nithercott’s competitive, privileged, majority-white environment, where she is constantly reminded of her state school background, she does miss her friends and family. When Malika, a fellow Black scholarship student, disappears and then returns, acting strangely devoid of personality, Ife worries the Changing Man is real—and that she’s next. Ife joins forces with classmate Bijal and Benny, Leon’s younger brother, to uncover the truth about who the Changing Man is and what he wants. Culminating in a detailed, gory, and extended climactic battle, this verbose thriller tempts readers with a nefarious mystery involving racial and class-based violence but never quite lives up to its potential and peters out thematically by its explosive finale. However, this debut offers highly visually evocative and eerie descriptions of characters and events and will appeal to fans of creature horror, social commentary, and dark academia.
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781250868138
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: June 8, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
Disappointingly uneven.
A group of teenagers sets out to find answers surrounding their sleepy town’s haunted past.
When high school golden couple Brad and Shelley are found dead at the abandoned Carrington Manor, the residents of the quiet California town of Sanera are panicked. Quarterback Brad was at the old house hoping to film the Carrington Ghoul for his show, Truly Haunted. Seniors Cam, Jonesy, and Amber, along with new girl Buffy, decide to solve the murders themselves, leading them to a series of terrifying discoveries. After an explosive beginning, the plot tapers off into an overly repetitive narrative that contains more telling than showing. Debut author Wood creates characters with thoughtfully imagined backgrounds, such as Jonesy’s mom’s alcoholism, that unfortunately aren’t integrated into the plot or explored beyond giving the teens reasons to be away from home. Similarly, many characters have traumatic pasts that will intrigue readers, but those backstories remain underdeveloped. Still, the action scenes and detailed descriptions of Carrington Manor are engaging. The story contains positive queer representation: Amber is bisexual, and Cam and Jonesy begin to acknowledge their feelings for one another in a growing relationship containing touching moments. The accessible writing alternates among several points of view. Most characters present white, and a mention of Amber’s braids may be intended to cue that she’s Black.
Disappointingly uneven. (Horror. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2025
ISBN: 9798225006143
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
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