Twisted, enthralling dark academia.
An outsider at an elite prep school discovers a powerful secret society.
A prologue sets up an outrageous situation for the narrator—being party to the kidnapping of the daughter of the vice president—before jumping back six months to the beginning of the school year to explain how he ended up in such a predicament. Cal, a sophomore transfer student on scholarship from Mississippi, is isolated at Connecticut’s posh Essex Academy. It’s supposed to be his fresh start after The Incident (among other troubles back home). When Cal chances upon a mysterious party, he learns of a Skull and Bones–like secret society that’s dedicated to exploring the school’s sprawling, storied campus and unearthing its secrets. Cal passionately tears through puzzles and challenges, desperate to earn a place in such powerful company. Alongside exciting urban exploration, Cal falls hard for Luke, a charismatic, troubled Korean American artist who’s also rushing the Society of Seven Eyes. Their ensuing romance is both sweet and spicy. The audacious conspiracy plot is grounded by the powerful emotionality of two flawed, conflicted boys in love. The more Cal sees suspicious, dangerous patterns in the Society’s activities over the decades, the greater the stakes. The book’s content is heavy—among other disturbing themes, classism and regionalism flavor the school, and Cal has experienced extreme homophobia that’s left him with a disability. The school and Society are racially diverse; Cal reads white. The wild climax leads to a bittersweet denouement.
Twisted, enthralling dark academia. (Romantic thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: July 2, 2024
ISBN: 9781339009933
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
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 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
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