A disquieting read sure to linger.
What does it mean to be complicit?
Nine young women are being raised in a cult—though that’s a word they never use—the kind with a handsome male leader and strictly proscribed roles based on gender. We may think we know what’s coming, but these girls have carved out a safe, even happy, space at Havenwood. They share their own cabin with a door that locks, and in some ways their home really is a haven; the girls have lived in this bucolic setting since childhood, have the freedom to focus on skills they love (beekeeping, foraging, baking), and believe in their community. Two of them share a monthslong clandestine romance despite strictures against sex; all of them collude to hide this and other transgressions from themselves as much as the larger community. Alternating between a collective first person (“The nine of us were not always as we are now”) and multiple close third-person perspectives, the text allows readers to glimpse the girls as individuals while seeing how they subsume that individuality to maintain their group identity. While the poetry is more prose with line breaks than flowing verse, the brevity effectively keeps the pages turning as the discomfort builds and the answer to the underlying mystery—one of the girls has vanished—slowly becomes clear. The limited physical descriptions included point to a White default.
A disquieting read sure to linger. (Verse thriller. 13-18)Pub Date: June 13, 2023
ISBN: 9780316494557
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
A treat for mystery readers who enjoy being kept in suspense.
Everyone believes that Salil Singh killed his girlfriend, Andrea Bell, five years ago—except Pippa Fitz-Amobi.
Pip has known and liked Sal since childhood; he’d supported her when she was being bullied in middle school. For her senior capstone project, Pip researches the disappearance of former Fairview High student Andie, last seen on April 18, 2014, by her younger sister, Becca. The original investigation concluded with most of the evidence pointing to Sal, who was found dead in the woods, apparently by suicide. Andie’s body was never recovered, and Sal was assumed by most to be guilty of abduction and murder. Unable to ignore the gaps in the case, Pip sets out to prove Sal’s innocence, beginning with interviewing his younger brother, Ravi. With his help, Pip digs deeper, unveiling unsavory facts about Andie and the real reason Sal’s friends couldn’t provide him with an alibi. But someone is watching, and Pip may be in more danger than she realizes. Pip’s sleuthing is both impressive and accessible. Online articles about the case and interview transcripts are provided throughout, and Pip’s capstone logs offer insights into her thought processes as new evidence and suspects arise. Jackson’s debut is well-executed and surprises readers with a connective web of interesting characters and motives. Pip and Andie are white, and Sal is of Indian descent.
A treat for mystery readers who enjoy being kept in suspense. (Mystery. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-9636-0
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
A dark and romantic thriller for those who love sexy suspense.
Ella Graham begins her senior year at North Davis High in a waking nightmare.
She’s trying to get by without best friend Hayley Miller, who died in a car accident last spring. Ella is besieged by not only grief but also guilt—she was the one driving drunk when their car hit a boulder above a rushing river, though she remembers nothing. Placed in a support group run by school psychologist Mr. Wilkens, Ella must confront fellow attendee Sawyer Hawkins—Hayley’s boyfriend, whom she’s sure blames her—as well as her growing feelings for him. As their relationship blooms, Ella’s guilt intensifies. When she helps Hayley’s mother with the painful task of cleaning out her late daughter’s bedroom, Ella discovers Hayley’s diary, and from its contents, she learns much more about her friend than she ever imagined. Harlow’s debut is full of angst, and readers will be enticed to tear through the novel, which contains surprising twists and quickens in pace toward the end. Ella’s grief and survivor’s guilt are palpable, permeating every page. Ella and Sawyer’s relationship is both fraught and steamy, and romance fans will enjoy the intrigue of their unfolding relationship; their alternating points of view provide glimpses into both their psyches. Ella’s mom is Filipina (her dad’s ethnicity is not mentioned); most other major characters read white.
A dark and romantic thriller for those who love sexy suspense. (resources) (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: May 28, 2024
ISBN: 9780593855720
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: March 23, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2024
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