A creepy, absorbing, plot-driven story.
A group of teens who meet through a forum on the website Deddit gather in person to try out an urban legend—with horrifying results.
Strangers Ellie, Mei, Reece, Toni, Hugo, and Callum decide to get together at a local Catholic elementary school to play the Midnight Game. This challenge requires them to summon the Midnight Man at 12:00 a.m.—and then survive until 3:33 a.m., using only candles as their source of light. They’re not allowed to sleep, leave the building, or bring weapons. What at first seems easy soon turns into a terrifying ordeal when the group splits up in search of the missing bag containing Mei’s inhaler. It then becomes clear to the six that they may not all make it out alive. The story opens at 3:36 a.m. on the night of the game and maintains a quick pace as it unfolds through message board chats dating back several days to the group’s original meeting and present-day chapters following the suspenseful events of the night. Some fear-stoking elements will make readers wonder what dangers are human and what might be supernatural. The tension and action are compelling, but the characters largely feel flat and underdeveloped. Some diversity is mentioned in passing: Hugo has ADHD, Ellie has diabetes, Callum is cued Black and has a Muslim father, and Mei is Chinese and white.
A creepy, absorbing, plot-driven story. (floor plan, content warning) (Horror. 12-16)Pub Date: July 2, 2024
ISBN: 9780593705568
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: April 20, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2024
Despite some missteps, this will appeal to readers who enjoy a fresh and realistic teen voice.
A teenage, not-so-lonely loner endures the wilds of high school in Austin, Texas.
Norris Kaplan, the protagonist of Philippe’s debut novel, is a hypersweaty, uber-snarky black, Haitian, French-Canadian pushing to survive life in his new school. His professor mom’s new tenure-track job transplants Norris mid–school year, and his biting wit and sarcasm are exposed through his cataloging of his new world in a field guide–style burn book. He’s greeted in his new life by an assortment of acquaintances, Liam, who is white and struggling with depression; Maddie, a self-sacrificing white cheerleader with a heart of gold; and Aarti, his Indian-American love interest who offers connection. Norris’ ego, fueled by his insecurities, often gets in the way of meaningful character development. The scenes showcasing his emotional growth are too brief and, despite foreshadowing, the climax falls flat because he still gets incredible personal access to people he’s hurt. A scene where Norris is confronted by his mother for getting drunk and belligerent with a white cop is diluted by his refusal or inability to grasp the severity of the situation and the resultant minor consequences. The humor is spot-on, as is the representation of the black diaspora; the opportunity for broader conversations about other topics is there, however, the uneven buildup of detailed, meaningful exchanges and the glibness of Norris’ voice detract.
Despite some missteps, this will appeal to readers who enjoy a fresh and realistic teen voice. (Fiction. 13-16)Pub Date: Jan. 8, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-282411-0
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
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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