Another McManus novel worth pulling an all-nighter for.
The Story family is full of secrets—and three cousins will unearth them.
Once inconsequential Gull Cove Island off the coast of Massachusetts was transformed into a luxurious getaway by Abraham Story. In the late 1990s, his widow, Mildred, suddenly disinherited her four young adult offspring—Adam, Anders, Allison, and, Archer—without explanation except for a mysterious letter, sent by her lawyer to each sibling, that read: “You know what you did.” A couple of decades later, the three Story grandchildren—Milly, Aubrey, and Jonah—receive letters from the grandmother they’ve never met, inviting them to spend the summer working at her island resort. Sensing an opportunity to regain entry into their mother’s world, Allison, Adam, and Anders force their respective children to accept her invitation. Upon their arrival at Gull Cove Island, where the Story family is a hot topic of gossip among the locals, it’s clear that the family’s past is darker than the cousins imagined. Not only is someone trying to get them to leave, but their grandmother was not expecting them. In classic McManus fashion, perspectives shift, providing insights into the three cousins’ distinct stories and personal motives while maintaining a steady pace that leaves readers flipping pages. Every twist is gasp-inducing, and the ending will satisfy some and make others yearn for a sequel. The main cast is White except for Milly, who is biracial (White and Japanese).
Another McManus novel worth pulling an all-nighter for. (family tree) (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-525-70800-1
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2020
A light and entertaining plot-driven romance.
A Connecticut girl and her best friend devise a series of plans in order to achieve their goals: following a dream and winning back an ex.
Eighteen-year-old Audrey Barbour has a Master Plan: attend Blue Ridge Glass School in North Carolina and someday turn her Etsy shop, Golightly Glass, into a thriving business. But her uber-wealthy parents insist that she instead follow in their footsteps and go to business school. So Audrey decides to go find the tuition money she needs with help from her best friend, Henry Chen. Henry needs a favor, too: He hopes that fake dating Audrey will help him win back his ex-girlfriend, and he points out to a reluctant Audrey that this could make her crush, Griffin, notice her. While Audrey’s parents vacation in France for three weeks, the pair rent out the Barbour mansion on the Long Island Sound. Soon romantic chemistry grows alongside their business partnership. Despite the pair’s great preparation and an abundance of secondary characters with connections and talents to help pull off their increasingly ambitious ideas, plans go awry, leaving Audrey and Henry scrambling and second-guessing their choices. The pacing is even, but the characters often take a back seat to the whirlwind of activity that drives the plot, with the emphasis falling on each person’s practical skills and their role in keeping the action moving over their emotional bonds. Audrey is white, and Henry’s surname cues him as Chinese American.
A light and entertaining plot-driven romance. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: March 31, 2026
ISBN: 9780593904794
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Delacorte Romance
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression.
After surviving a suicide attempt, a fragile teen isn't sure she can endure without cutting herself.
Seventeen-year-old Charlie Davis, a white girl living on the margins, thinks she has little reason to live: her father drowned himself; her bereft and abusive mother kicked her out; her best friend, Ellis, is nearly brain dead after cutting too deeply; and she's gone through unspeakable experiences living on the street. After spending time in treatment with other young women like her—who cut, burn, poke, and otherwise hurt themselves—Charlie is released and takes a bus from the Twin Cities to Tucson to be closer to Mikey, a boy she "like-likes" but who had pined for Ellis instead. But things don't go as planned in the Arizona desert, because sweet Mikey just wants to be friends. Feeling rejected, Charlie, an artist, is drawn into a destructive new relationship with her sexy older co-worker, a "semifamous" local musician who's obviously a junkie alcoholic. Through intense, diarylike chapters chronicling Charlie's journey, the author captures the brutal and heartbreaking way "girls who write their pain on their bodies" scar and mar themselves, either succumbing or surviving. Like most issue books, this is not an easy read, but it's poignant and transcendent as Charlie breaks more and more before piecing herself back together.
This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression. (author’s note) (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-101-93471-5
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2016
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