The bestselling author of the Inspector Lynley crime novels turns to teens with this paranormal-series opener.
Fourteen-year-old Becca King finds herself stranded on Whidbey Island in Washington state, without family, friends or funds, and with an angry, murderous stepfather on her trail. Becca has the power to hear snippets of other people’s thoughts, which is both a blessing and a curse. She finds a place to live, makes a few friends and starts high school, while waiting for her mother, gone to British Columbia to establish a safe home for them, to return to pick her up. Becca immediately connects with Derric, an adopted Ugandan boy who is a popular athlete and the son of the local undersheriff. Derric is injured in a fall and remains in a coma for much of the story; a police investigation into who might have pushed Derric off his hiking trail ensues. The mystery is slight and unlikely, with few clues, and the investigation and Derric’s stay in the hospital drag on for too long. Derric’s ethnicity is frankly exoticized, with far too many references to the “handsome black boy” and “eyes as dark as the nighttime of his skin.”
Lacking vampires, werewolves and a compelling mystery, this will be of most interest to persistent readers of teen sagas set in the Pacific Northwest. (Paranormal mystery. 12 & up)Pub Date: Sept. 4, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-670-01296-1
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: April 25, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Cracking page-turner with a multiethnic band of misfits with differing sexual orientations who satisfyingly, believably jell...
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Adolescent criminals seek the haul of a lifetime in a fantasyland at the beginning of its industrial age.
The dangerous city of Ketterdam is governed by the Merchant Council, but in reality, large sectors of the city are given over to gangs who run the gambling dens and brothels. The underworld's rising star is 17-year-old Kaz Brekker, known as Dirtyhands for his brutal amorality. Kaz walks with chronic pain from an old injury, but that doesn't stop him from utterly destroying any rivals. When a councilman offers him an unimaginable reward to rescue a kidnapped foreign chemist—30 million kruge!—Kaz knows just the team he needs to assemble. There's Inej, an itinerant acrobat captured by slavers and sold to a brothel, now a spy for Kaz; the Grisha Nina, with the magical ability to calm and heal; Matthias the zealot, hunter of Grishas and caught in a hopeless spiral of love and vengeance with Nina; Wylan, the privileged boy with an engineer's skills; and Jesper, a sharpshooter who keeps flirting with Wylan. Bardugo broadens the universe she created in the Grisha Trilogy, sending her protagonists around countries that resemble post-Renaissance northern Europe, where technology develops in concert with the magic that's both coveted and despised. It’s a highly successful venture, leaving enough open questions to cause readers to eagerly await Volume 2.
Cracking page-turner with a multiethnic band of misfits with differing sexual orientations who satisfyingly, believably jell into a family . (Fantasy. 14 & up)Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-62779-212-7
Page Count: 480
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2015
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Two teens with a dark secret return to their old summer camp.
Childhood friends Esme and Kayla can’t wait to return to Camp Pine Lake as counselors-in-training, ready to try everything they couldn’t do when they were younger: find cute boys, stay up late, and sneak out after hours. Even Andy, their straight-laced supervisor, can’t dampen their excitement, especially after they meet the crushworthy Olly and Jake. An intuitive 17-year-old, Esme is ready to jump in and teach her cute little campers. But when a threatening message appears, Esme and Kayla realize the secret they’ve kept hidden for nearly a decade is no longer safe. Paranoia and fear soon cause Esme and Kayla to revisit their ominous secret and realize that nobody in the camp can be trusted. The slow buildup of suspense and the use of classic horror elements contrast with lighthearted camp activities, bonding with new friends, and budding romance. Similarly, Esme’s first-person point of view allows for increased tension and action as well as offering insight into her emotional and mental well-being. Discussions of adulthood, trauma, and recovery are subtle and realistic, but acts of sexism and machismo aren’t fully analyzed. While the strong buildup of action comes late, it leads to a shockingly satisfying finale. Major characters are White.
An eerie thriller reminiscent of summer horror movies that will keep readers on edge. (Thriller. 12-16)Pub Date: March 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12497-0
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Dec. 10, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2021
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