Psychologically and emotionally stirring.
Urban’s latest is a semester at sea–turned–murder mystery.
It has been two months since Jade, a scholarship student at Stanford University, had her heart broken by Silas, who dumped her via text message for her best friend, Lainey. Their betrayal hurts Jade especially deeply since she had pleaded with Lainey to help Silas get a paid internship at her father’s pharmaceutical company after he injured his throwing elbow and lost his baseball scholarship. Jade looks forward to Campus on Board, a semesterlong study program on a cruise ship, to further distance herself from them—only to learn that they both signed up for the program too. Jade takes this opportunity to confront Lainey and Silas, but she is bewildered when they avoid her, claiming she’s done terrible things to them. Jade’s rage grows as the traitorous pair continue to push her away, but the trip takes a deadly turn when Lainey disappears, her cabin is found to be covered in blood, and Jade is a suspect. Readers will sympathize with Jade, who has experienced abandonment by neglectful parents and who struggles to suppress her anger at Lainey, whose friendship she misses. Jade’s budding romance with Felix, a broody psych major, keeps her afloat as her heart sinks, but her trust in him and everyone around her is tested as they hunt the killer onboard. Main characters are cued White; there is racial diversity in the supporting cast.
Psychologically and emotionally stirring. (Mystery. 13-18)Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9780593527603
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
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
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