Fans of social media drama may enjoy this lightly characterized murder mystery.
When a social media prankster is found dead, his love interests become suspects.
High schooler Thomas Harding is a popular internet personality, but in the last year, a number of his pranks have gone wrong, causing scandal and controversy. Tommy, who’s white, is determined to stage a comeback, however, by pulling off “the greatest prank of the century” during the senior class trip to Sunny World Resorts and Park. But a night that starts off with drinking and drugs at a secret party in the theme park ends in Tommy’s murder—and the top suspects are the three young women who just found out they were all dating him. Kiara is the class valedictorian and the girlfriend Tommy’s fans know about. As an up-and-coming beauty vlogger, Priscilla was Tommy’s frequent social media co-star, and behind the scenes they’d made plans to be together. Nevaeh is the pastor’s daughter whom Tommy corrupted. Although the three Black girls have little in common, they decide to work together to solve the murder before it’s too late. While Tommy is the book’s central focus, his character is barely developed prior to his death. Because the story is told in viewpoints that alternate among the girls, readers get to know Kiara, Priscilla, and Nevaeh intimately, yet their reasons for remaining loyal to an abusive and manipulative partner are not sufficiently explored.
Fans of social media drama may enjoy this lightly characterized murder mystery. (Mystery. 13-18)Pub Date: Nov. 26, 2024
ISBN: 9780593484494
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.
A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.
Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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