by Ginny Myers Sain ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 4, 2025
Gripping and intensely atmospheric.
As people vanish in the mountains surrounding her remote Arkansas town, a teen with the ability to locate the dead tries to find the killer.
Seventeen-year-old Dove Warner can hear the song of the dead. It resonates through her body, a bone-deep thrum that propels her towards a victim’s burial place. This grim talent is useful in Dove’s hometown, Lucifer’s Creek, where the sheriff has relied on her in recent years to find the remains of people who have died under mysterious circumstances while hiking the Aux-Arc Trail. Oddly enough, the rising body count hardly disturbs the locals—except, that is, for Dove’s best friend, Lowan Wilder, who believes he’s being haunted by the restless spirits of the murdered hikers. Dove is, ironically, very skeptical about the paranormal, but it’s clear to her that Lo’s fear is genuine, as is his insistence that putting an end to the killings will appease the spirits. Folk magic, a family curse, and the specter of an ominous regional cryptid combine with vivid descriptions of the Ozark Mountains setting to give this story a distinct sense of the Southern gothic. Like the sulfurous stream that gives Lucifer’s Creek its name, the central mystery twists and turns in unexpected ways, building up to a chilling reveal in the final act that skirts the edge of horror. Main characters read white.
Gripping and intensely atmospheric. (Paranormal thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: March 4, 2025
ISBN: 9780593625484
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
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by Lauren Roberts ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 7, 2023
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes.
The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.
Paedyn Gray witnessed the king kill her father five years ago, and she’s been thieving and sleeping rough ever since, all while faking Psychic abilities. When she inadvertently saves the life of Prince Kai, she becomes embroiled in the Purging Trials, a competition to commemorate the sickness that killed most of the kingdom’s Ordinaries. Kai’s duties as the future Enforcer include eradicating any remaining Ordinaries, and these Trials are his chance to prove that he’s internalized his brutal training. But Kai can’t help but find Pae’s blue eyes, silver hair, and unabashed attitude enchanting. She likewise struggles to resist his stormy gray eyes, dark hair, and rakish behavior, even as they’re pitted against each other in the Trials and by the king himself. Scenes and concepts that are strongly reminiscent of the Hunger Games fall flat: They aren’t bolstered by the original’s heart or worldbuilding logic that would have justified a few extreme story elements. Illogical leaps and inconsistent characterizations abound, with lighthearted romantic interludes juxtaposed against genocide, child abuse, and sadism. These elements, which are not sufficiently addressed, combined with the use of ableist language, cannot be erased by any amount of romantic banter. Main characters are cued white; the supporting cast has some brown-skinned characters.
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9798987380406
Page Count: 538
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
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by Laura Nowlin ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2013
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
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New York Times Bestseller
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
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