A Los Angeles private school student and social media it girl discovers feminism and queerness.
Lulu Shapiro has 10,000 followers on Flash, a Snapchat-like platform, thanks to a scandalous video that was never supposed to go public. She embraces her quasi-fame, giving the followers what they want with sexy snaps of her life while keeping a wall up around her closest IRL friends. When Lulu meets Cass, a fellow private school girl who’s adjusting to her family’s recent wealth, she finds herself drawn to the pretty redhead as well as to Cass’ best friend, Ryan Riggs, an up-and-coming teen real estate scion whose older brother dropped out of high school to found Flash. Lulu and Cass develop a friendship that quickly becomes more at The Hotel, a Riggs family building where phones are not allowed. But just as Lulu, who previously only kissed girls at parties, wonders if she is ready for more, Ryan reveals a nasty surprise that has Lulu questioning the implications of a life lived online and the possessive nature of the male gaze. Romanoff’s (Grace and the Fever, 2017, etc.) writing is compelling and her subject matter timely, but the novel’s arch, jaded voice doesn’t quite ring true for its teen characters, sophisticated as they are. Lulu is white and Jewish, and Cass and Ryan are cued as white; there is ethnic diversity in secondary characters.
A searing take on sexuality better suited to an adult audience. (Fiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: March 31, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-5255-5426-4
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020
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This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression.
21
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After surviving a suicide attempt, a fragile teen isn't sure she can endure without cutting herself.
Seventeen-year-old Charlie Davis, a white girl living on the margins, thinks she has little reason to live: her father drowned himself; her bereft and abusive mother kicked her out; her best friend, Ellis, is nearly brain dead after cutting too deeply; and she's gone through unspeakable experiences living on the street. After spending time in treatment with other young women like her—who cut, burn, poke, and otherwise hurt themselves—Charlie is released and takes a bus from the Twin Cities to Tucson to be closer to Mikey, a boy she "like-likes" but who had pined for Ellis instead. But things don't go as planned in the Arizona desert, because sweet Mikey just wants to be friends. Feeling rejected, Charlie, an artist, is drawn into a destructive new relationship with her sexy older co-worker, a "semifamous" local musician who's obviously a junkie alcoholic. Through intense, diarylike chapters chronicling Charlie's journey, the author captures the brutal and heartbreaking way "girls who write their pain on their bodies" scar and mar themselves, either succumbing or surviving. Like most issue books, this is not an easy read, but it's poignant and transcendent as Charlie breaks more and more before piecing herself back together.
This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression. (author’s note) (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-101-93471-5
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2016
Categories: TEENS & YOUNG ADULT FICTION | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT SOCIAL THEMES
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Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in.
14
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Black is back with another dark tale of Faerie, this one set in Faerie and launching a new trilogy.
Jude—broken, rebuilt, fueled by anger and a sense of powerlessness—has never recovered from watching her adoptive Faerie father murder her parents. Human Jude (whose brown hair curls and whose skin color is never described) both hates and loves Madoc, whose murderous nature is true to his Faerie self and who in his way loves her. Brought up among the Gentry, Jude has never felt at ease, but after a decade, Faerie has become her home despite the constant peril. Black’s latest looks at nature and nurture and spins a tale of court intrigue, bloodshed, and a truly messed-up relationship that might be the saving of Jude and the titular prince, who, like Jude, has been shaped by the cruelties of others. Fierce and observant Jude is utterly unaware of the currents that swirl around her. She fights, plots, even murders enemies, but she must also navigate her relationship with her complex family (human, Faerie, and mixed). This is a heady blend of Faerie lore, high fantasy, and high school drama, dripping with description that brings the dangerous but tempting world of Faerie to life.
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-31027-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 26, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
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