Full of atmospherics, but weak on style, this novel pits a feisty teenaged novelist against a community of vampires in the next town over. Jessica is a high school senior who has always felt like an outsider in her town—she lives with an adoptive mother (no one is sure who her biological parents are), and even more unusually, she’s had a horror novel published under the pen name “Ash Night.” Jessica’s life is thrown into even more than its usual turmoil when a new boy, Alex Remington, shows up at school, a boy so like Jessica’s fictional vampire character Aubrey that Jessica begins to be unsure whether she is living in the real world or in the world of her novels. Throw in a good witch determined to save Jessica from the hunky teenager who may or may not be a danger to Jessica and you have a novel full of vampires, witches, vampire hunters, and (perhaps most evil of all) ordinary suburban adolescents. This should be more fun to read than it actually is. Atwater-Rhodes (In the Forests of the Night, 1999) wrote this at age 15, a fact the publishers are clearly planning to exploit. Not surprisingly, it reads like a work written by an inexperienced, novice writer—clichés abound and many passages are tedious or pretentious. Not bad for a 15-year-old, but not a well-written, fully realized novel either. (Fiction. YA)
Pub Date: May 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-385-32720-X
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2000
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
A thrilling and exquisitely grotesque showcase of young women taking charge.
Three young women team up to track down a serial killer who’s targeting witches.
Jude Wolf became cursed after a deal with a demon went awry; as a result, she was kicked out of her rich and well-connected family. Zara Jones wants to bring her murdered sister back from the dead so she can make amends. They both need the help of Emer Byrne, a powerful type of witch known as a cursewriter. With a dark past of her own, Emer writes invocations that give women power in exchange for letting a demon have part of their souls, turning them into witches. When the trio of women, who are cued white, realize that the serial killer on the loose in London is specifically going after Emer’s previous clients, they pool their resources. Jude is independently wealthy, Zara has incredible puzzle-solving skills, and Emer brings her witchy prowess: Together they work to fight back and find the killer. Filled with feminist rage and a sprinkle of queer romance, this lushly written tale methodically builds to a heart-pounding confrontation. Each woman is separately introduced, and then Sutherland expertly weaves together their lives in intricate and fascinating ways. The characters’ relationships evolve as the stakes become increasingly dangerous. Although some of the worldbuilding details are waved away, the evocative body horror, distinct and compelling leads, and twisty plot will keep readers immersed in this grisly story.
A thrilling and exquisitely grotesque showcase of young women taking charge. (Paranormal thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Jan. 30, 2024
ISBN: 9780593532263
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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