Despite an often implausible plot, this romantic revenge thriller will keep readers turning pages in a state of breathless...
Frances Mace, 14, one of three survivors rescued after the Persephone sinks—is shocked when the other two tell a starkly different tale of the luxury yacht’s demise.
Sen. Wells and his attractive son, Grey (with whom Frances had an onboard romance), claim the Persephone was swamped by a rogue wave. Frances, escaping on a raft with new friend Libby O’Martin (who perishes before they’re rescued), knows the ship was brutally attacked, and she shares her gruesome recollections in flashbacks with readers: “Blood-soaked, faces shattered.” Orphaned in the attack, Frances is encouraged by Libby’s father, Cecil, to switch identities and “become” Libby. Altered by plastic surgery and a stay at a foreign boarding school, Frances may look like Libby, but she remains doggedly determined to understand the past and exact revenge. Four years later, after Cecil dies, Frances cultivates Grey’s acquaintance, claiming amnesia about their shared history and romancing him to access his secrets. As Frances gets closer and closer to her goal of uncovering the truth, her vow of “cold destruction, calculated retribution” wavers before her old attraction for Grey, placing her in mortal danger. Frances' soapy, present-tense narration suits the overwrought circumstances, and the pace never lags.
Despite an often implausible plot, this romantic revenge thriller will keep readers turning pages in a state of breathless suspense. (Thriller. 14 & up)Pub Date: June 2, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-525-426509
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: March 10, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2015
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.
A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.
Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
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