A bloody, wonderfully creepy scare ride.
A thriller in a decrepit, isolated mansion—and in the double-occupancy mind of a teen girl.
When Seda’s professor mother, a horror-film scholar, inherits the crumbling remains of what was once a rural hotel used to host murder-mystery events, the family’s supposed to have a quick summer to tidy it up for sale. But her mom stalls and vetoes any prospective buyer who doesn’t want to run it as-is, leaving her and her children (Seda and two sets of younger twins, each a boy-girl pair, ages 6 and 4) stuck on the mountain come fall. Seda wishes she could be more alone in her own head, though—she’s plagued by her lifelong imaginary friend, Sawyer, who tells her to hurt herself and others. Seda suspects he was her own twin, absorbed in the womb. Sawyer knows it’s a bad idea to let the teens stranded by a snowstorm into the house, but Heath, their spokesman, is cute, and Seda’s mom insists, roping everyone into a murder-mystery game she’s written for Seda’s birthday celebration. Just when readers are lulled into a false sense of security—and even Seda notes Sawyer’s silence—the elaborate game heats up. Each new bit of information builds, and in a house full of potential victims, readers will be compelled to rush and unravel the twisted mystery. Aside from one Chinese character, the cast is white; at one point Heath playacts Robert E. Lee.
A bloody, wonderfully creepy scare ride. (Horror. 12-adult)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-5547-3
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2017
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
BOOK REVIEW
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
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