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
Crowd-pleasing fun laced with political fire: a winner.
Bestselling author Faizal returns to the universe of We Hunt the Flame (2019) with a stand-alone duology opener.
Orphaned Arthie, brown-skinned with mauve hair, has created a criminal empire out of sheer pluck despite being Ceylani in Ettenia, where laws favor white people. She pulled legendary pistol Calibore from a stone plinth (though the prophecy that doing so would make her the nation’s leader turned out to be a hoax). She’s also built Spindrift, a teahouse-cum-bloodhouse, where she gathers secrets from wealthy humans and vampires, amassing power and security. Now Arthie has her sights set on vengeance—and the Ram, Ettenia’s masked monarch. When she and Jin, her brother-by-choice (who’s cued East Asian), are drawn into a heist, they assemble a diverse crew of immigrants whose roles riff on genre archetypes. The lush prose pulses with feeling as revelations are dropped and the tension ratchets up, keeping the pages turning as the motley gang plans to infiltrate a vampire society, retrieve a stolen ledger, and double-cross one of the Ram’s guards (who might be planning to double-cross them). Their ultimate goal: taking down the colonizing Ettenians and the exploitative East Jeevant Company. It’s all very exciting right up to the action-packed finale, which promises more conspiracy and (hopefully) justice to come. This compelling read offers interesting commentary on our society while feeling entirely real within the context of its own worldbuilding.
Crowd-pleasing fun laced with political fire: a winner. (map) (Fantasy. 13-18)Pub Date: Feb. 20, 2024
ISBN: 9780374389406
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2023
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