Come for spooky action, stay for the robust cast.
A girl with anxiety stumbles upon an actual haunted mansion.
Even though her therapy is going well, 16-year-old Audrey Perez isn’t looking forward to the beyond-nerves that her anxiety will give her as she starts a new school, having moved from the suburbs into New Orleans proper. Worse, she won’t have her boyfriend, Chase, there to protect her from the world. Luckily, right off the bat she befriends Tatum, an outgoing girl from Scotland, and Iris, a wryly funny Black girl. When Audrey, whose family emigrated from Spain centuries ago, finds an abandoned manor house in the neighborhood, she lets her new friends in on it. Filmmaker Iris knows she’s found a compelling subject. But after her first brush with the paranormal, Audrey starts to experience happenings outside of the mansion—ghostly possessions that lead her to mysterious keys. As the girls investigate, they notice chills in the air and sense that something bad is coming. This mysterious new threat is dangerous enough that even the ghosts dread it. The paranormal storyline has some strong moments, but readers primarily seeking thrills may feel the story’s action is overshadowed by the characters’ interpersonal dynamics. Audrey and Chase’s relationship reveals red flags alongside moments of genuine sweetness and ends on a healthy, mature, nuanced note. Audrey’s friendships are impacted by her expertly depicted anxiety and showcase healthy bonds. Disney fans will adore the care put in capturing details of the Haunted Mansion.
Come for spooky action, stay for the robust cast. (Paranormal. 12-16)Pub Date: Aug. 29, 2023
ISBN: 9781368076067
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Disney Press
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An eerie thriller reminiscent of summer horror movies that will keep readers on edge.
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. 9, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2021
Characters to love, quips to snort at, insights to ponder: typical Spinelli.
For two teenagers, a small town’s annual cautionary ritual becomes both a life- and a death-changing experience.
On the second Wednesday in June, every eighth grader in Amber Springs, Pennsylvania, gets a black shirt, the name and picture of a teen killed the previous year through reckless behavior—and the silent treatment from everyone in town. Like many of his classmates, shy, self-conscious Robbie “Worm” Tarnauer has been looking forward to Dead Wed as a day for cutting loose rather than sober reflection…until he finds himself talking to a strange girl or, as she would have it, “spectral maiden,” only he can see or touch. Becca Finch is as surprised and confused as Worm, only remembering losing control of her car on an icy slope that past Christmas Eve. But being (or having been, anyway) a more outgoing sort, she sees their encounter as a sign that she’s got a mission. What follows, in a long conversational ramble through town and beyond, is a day at once ordinary yet rich in discovery and self-discovery—not just for Worm, but for Becca too, with a climactic twist that leaves both ready, or readier, for whatever may come next. Spinelli shines at setting a tongue-in-cheek tone for a tale with serious underpinnings, and as in Stargirl (2000), readers will be swept into the relationship that develops between this adolescent odd couple. Characters follow a White default.
Characters to love, quips to snort at, insights to ponder: typical Spinelli. (Fiction. 12-15)Pub Date: Aug. 3, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-30667-3
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
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