Unresolved situations, especially Becca’s missing mother, leave the door open for at least one more entry in the Whidbey...
The fourth entry in the bestselling mystery author’s series for teens continues the story of a group of young people living on Whidbey Island in Washington state.
The previous books in the series introduced a huge cast of characters, both teen and adult. The introductory chapters of this story reintroduce all these characters and their backgrounds, with 36 people and two dogs introduced in the first 100 pages. This volume weaves several plot strands together, with a bit of mystery, some romance, drug issues, and a dash of paranormal abilities exercised by Becca, a high school student in hiding from her evil stepfather. She is still involved with her boyfriend, Derric, who was adopted from Uganda, as was his birth sister, Rejoice, adopted by a family living in another town in Washington. Becca is now a live-in caretaker for her friend Seth’s grandfather, who is recovering from a stroke and trying to hang onto his house and land. Seth is in love with Prynne, a talented musician with drug issues, including heroin. Jenn is a talented soccer player who gets a job, makes the select soccer team, and explores her sexuality with another young woman on the soccer team. All of these teens are searching for distinct identities and stable lives, and all make progress in the course of the novel. Intriguing details of Northwest island life continue to draw readers in, while the style and plotting have improved from earlier entries in the series.
Unresolved situations, especially Becca’s missing mother, leave the door open for at least one more entry in the Whidbey Island saga. (Paranormal mystery. 12 & up)Pub Date: Aug. 15, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-670-01299-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
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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