Don’t swipe left on this one.
Seventeen-year-old Aidan Jamison stumbles into a terrorist plot in Milman’s (Scream All Night, 2018) woozy page-turner.
Alone in New York for health tests, Aidan uses an app to hook up with an older gentleman at his hotel. Following the encounter and a brief siesta, Aidan wakes up to find his companion dead. A phone conversation with a mysterious man results in a case of mistaken identity, and Aidan must go on the run or else face the consequences for the death of his one-time lover. Even worse, he’s now a target of the Swans, a domestic terrorist network targeting anti-gay groups and politicians. The Swans believe Aidan holds a key piece of code necessary for the group’s cyberwarfare efforts. As the body count ramps up, Aidan goes in deeper to uncover the terrorist plot, struggling to reconcile his mixed feelings over the Swans’ actions. Things shake up when he meets Shiloh, an older man who offers help at suspiciously opportune moments. An addicting read, Milman’s second novel interrogates the costs of political extremism as a tool for social change before curbing these efforts in favor of propping up a somewhat generic villain during the book’s third act. The author nonetheless plumbs richer emotional depths via Aidan’s struggles to make peace with his brother’s unexpected death and a torturous affair with a former friend’s father. A white default is assumed.
Don’t swipe left on this one. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Aug. 6, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-316-45106-2
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Jimmy Patterson/Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: April 15, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PROFILES
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind.
In this companion novel to 2013’s If He Had Been With Me, three characters tell their sides of the story.
Finn’s narrative starts three days before his death. He explores the progress of his unrequited love for best friend Autumn up until the day he finally expresses his feelings. Finn’s story ends with his tragic death, which leaves his close friends devastated, unmoored, and uncertain how to go on. Jack’s section follows, offering a heartbreaking look at what it’s like to live with grief. Jack works to overcome the anger he feels toward Sylvie, the girlfriend Finn was breaking up with when he died, and Autumn, the girl he was preparing to build his life around (but whom Jack believed wasn’t good enough for Finn). But when Jack sees how Autumn’s grief matches his own, it changes their understanding of one another. Autumn’s chapters trace her life without Finn as readers follow her struggles with mental health and balancing love and loss. Those who have read the earlier book will better connect with and feel for these characters, particularly since they’ll have a more well-rounded impression of Finn. The pain and anger is well written, and the novel highlights the most troublesome aspects of young adulthood: overconfidence sprinkled with heavy insecurities, fear-fueled decisions, bad communication, and brash judgments. Characters are cued white.
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind. (author’s note, content warning) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781728276229
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
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
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