An homage to horror stories that doesn’t quite land.
A “final girl” finds herself in a real-life thriller in which survival isn’t an option.
Seventeen-year-old Charity works at Camp Mirror Lake, a horror-simulation camp in the woods of upstate New York. She’s moved up to being manager as well as Final Girl, the most desirable role in their nightly performance, thanks to her lifelong horror fandom, her mastery of fake blood, and her ability to navigate co-workers with all-too-real murderous impulses. But her real commitment to the faux frights comes from not having much of a home to go back to when the dust clears each season. The camp, owned by a Mr. Lamont, is located on the site where a 1980s cult classic was filmed. When her co-workers mysteriously don’t show for their roles as victims, Charity reaches out to her friend Paige and her girlfriend, Bezi, inviting them to fill in. As an aficionado of the genre and one of the few Black staff members, Charity is well aware of the usual tropes; as Bezi reminds her, “You know what happens to Black folks in slasher movies,” (Charity reassures her, “I’m the final girl….Guaranteed to survive the night”). Unfortunately, the slowly paced story meanders toward a reveal that readers may themselves have already anticipated. Ultimately, the tropes of the final girl and Black people’s roles in horror are reconciled in an inexplicable hurry.
An homage to horror stories that doesn’t quite land. (Horror. 14-18)Pub Date: June 20, 2023
ISBN: 9781547611546
Page Count: 350
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: April 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2023
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
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
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