Precise and cutting.
On the morning after the new moon, five traumatized teens from a cult of societal outcasts who possess “magics” awaken to discover their entire community has vanished.
Three years ago, Bird tried to leave the Caravan, but found they didn’t belong in the human world either. The Caravan collects and shelters people with “inhuman characteristics or physical features” and unexplained, sometimes lethal, magical powers. While some are born into the community, like Bird, Hugo (a boy with antlers and fire powers who’s Bird’s ex), and Felix (Hugo’s fawn-eared younger brother), others, like “venomous wolf-girl” Cal and red-eyed Eamon, arrive mysteriously and have no memories of their pasts. Although the Caravan offers a haven, it’s vulnerable to being noticed by suspicious humans, who sometimes call the authorities. When Bird, Hugo, Felix, Cal, and Eamon wake up alone after the new moon, they blame each other and themselves. Secrets gnaw at them, and only Felix believes they can work together successfully. With nowhere else to go, they set off in search of Port Haven, Washington, a community like theirs—and the closest thing the Caravan has to an enemy. Chapters alternate among the perspectives of the five teens as well as shifting between past and present, maintaining suspense, tension, and a fast pace. Edgmon crafts horror with vivid imagery and an unknown, ominous threat. Meticulous plotting leads to a satisfying conclusion. The cast of characters is predominantly white-presenting and queer.
Precise and cutting. (author’s note) (Paranormal. 15-18)Pub Date: June 10, 2025
ISBN: 9781250853653
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
A troubling depiction of an unhealthy relationship.
A battered girl and an injured rugby star spark up an ill-advised romance at an Irish secondary school.
Beautiful, waiflike, 15-year-old Shannon has lived her entire life in Ballylaggin. Alternately bullied at school and beaten by her ne’er-do-well father, she’s hopeful for a fresh start at Tommen, a private school. Seventeen-year-old Johnny, who has a hair-trigger temper and a severe groin injury, is used to Dublin’s elite-level rugby but, since his family’s move to County Cork, is now stuck captaining Tommen’s middling team. When Johnny angrily kicks a ball and knocks Shannon unconscious (“a soft female groan came from her lips”), a tentative relationship is born. As the two grow closer, Johnny’s past and Shannon’s present become serious obstacles to their budding love, threatening Shannon’s safety. Shannon’s portrayal feels infantilized (“I looked down at the tiny little female under my arm”), while Johnny comes across as borderline obsessive (“I knew I shouldn’t be touching her, but how the hell could I not?”). Uneven pacing and choppy sentences lead to a sudden climax and an unsatisfyingly abrupt ending. Repetitive descriptions, abundant and misogynistic dialogue (Johnny, to his best friend: “who’s the bitch with a vagina now?”), and graphic violence also weigh down this lengthy tome (considerably trimmed down from its original, self-published length). The cast of lively, well-developed supporting characters, especially Johnny’s best friend and Shannon’s protective older brother, is a bright spot. Major characters read white.
A troubling depiction of an unhealthy relationship. (author’s note, pronunciations, glossary, song moments, playlists) (Romance. 16-18)Pub Date: Nov. 28, 2023
ISBN: 9781728299945
Page Count: 626
Publisher: Bloom Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023
Only marginally intriguing.
In a remote part of Utah, in a “temple of excellence,” the best of the best are recruited to nurture their talents.
Redemption Preparatory is a cross between the Vatican and a top-secret research facility: The school is rooted in Christian ideology (but very few students are Christian), Mass is compulsory, cameras capture everything, and “maintenance” workers carry Tasers. When talented poet Emma disappears, three students, distrusting of the school administration, launch their own investigation. Brilliant chemist Neesha believes Emma has run away to avoid taking the heat for the duo’s illegal drug enterprise. Her boyfriend, an athlete called Aiden, naturally wants to find her. Evan, a chess prodigy who relies on patterns and has difficulty processing social signals, believes he knows Emma better than anyone. While the school is an insidious character on its own and the big reveal is slightly psychologically disturbing, Evan’s positioning as a tragic hero with an uncertain fate—which is connected to his stalking of Emma (even before her disappearance)—is far more unsettling. The ’90s setting provides the backdrop for tongue-in-cheek technological references but doesn’t do anything for the plot. Student testimonials and voice-to-text transcripts punctuate the three-way third-person narration that alternates among Neesha, Evan, and Aiden. Emma, Aiden, and Evan are assumed to be white; Neesha is Indian. Students are from all over the world, including Asia and the Middle East.
Only marginally intriguing. (Mystery. 15-18)Pub Date: April 14, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-266203-3
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2020
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