by Halli Gomez ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2024
Puzzles, friendship, and personal growth form the backdrop of this intriguing story.
A mysterious puppet master tests an unlikely combination of North Carolina teens by locking them in a room together.
When a new escape room located in a half-empty mall puts out a call for testers, four teens apply: Tony Wells’ ambitious parents are pushing him to enhance his leadership skills, Bea Gonzalez loves puzzles and hopes to someday be a business owner running an escape room, Devin King ran away from his foster home and needs the offered compensation of $100, and Anna Blum wants some extra spending money for an upcoming trip to New York. The young people don’t know that they’ve been chosen by a man who wants to do an experiment by putting four very different people together and seeing how they’ll react. The shadowy figure manipulates the game, incorporating notes designed to unsettle and confuse the players, which in turn leads them to reveal secrets they’ve been keeping and to confront serious issues in their lives, including racism, social anxiety, parental loss, and unexamined privilege. Each member of the group changes as a result of the experience, causing real shifts in their lives. Reluctant readers will be engaged by the personal dynamics and the real-life issues explored in this accessible novel that feels like The Breakfast Club with an escape-room setting. Tony is white, Bea is cued Latine, Devin is Black, and Anna is Jewish.
Puzzles, friendship, and personal growth form the backdrop of this intriguing story. (Fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781631638459
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Jolly Fish Press
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2024
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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.
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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SEEN & HEARD
by Holly Jackson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 4, 2020
A treat for mystery readers who enjoy being kept in suspense.
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New York Times Bestseller
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
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