A mixed bag for patient older teens.
What happened to Becca Donoghue?
Sara Donoghue never believed the rumors that her sister, Becca, simply ran away from home with her boyfriend. Becca had been obsessed with Lucy Gallows, the ghost from the 1950s who allegedly haunts their town, and the mysterious road that Lucy traveled on before she disappeared. Before Becca vanished too, the last thing Sara overheard her say was “We know where the road is. We’ve got the keys. That’s all we need to find her. I’m not backing down now. Not after everything we’ve done to get this close.” As the one-year anniversary of Becca’s disappearance approaches, Sara becomes desperate to discover what happened and how it may be related to the real Lucy. The setup is slow and complicated, with many diverse characters, relationships, and supernatural rules. While normally something to be celebrated, this diverse cast feels forced and inauthentic, like moons orbiting the main white protagonist, Sara (Becca is Asian—her ethnicity is never specified—and adopted). When the plot eventually picks up its pace, the story becomes quite engrossing and cleverly moves between its many narrators, characters, and plot twists. If readers can move past the long-winded and complicated setup, they will enjoy this mashup of The X-Files and the The Blair Witch Project, but those seeking a handy conclusion will likely be disappointed.
A mixed bag for patient older teens. (Mystery. 15-18)Pub Date: Sept. 24, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-984837-01-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: June 14, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
Perhaps a more genuinely enlightened protagonist would have made this debut more engaging
Audrey Rose Wadsworth, 17, would rather perform autopsies in her uncle’s dark laboratory than find a suitable husband, as is the socially acceptable rite of passage for a young, white British lady in the late 1800s.
The story immediately brings Audrey into a fractious pairing with her uncle’s young assistant, Thomas Cresswell. The two engage in predictable rounds of “I’m smarter than you are” banter, while Audrey’s older brother, Nathaniel, taunts her for being a girl out of her place. Horrific murders of prostitutes whose identities point to associations with the Wadsworth estate prompt Audrey to start her own investigation, with Thomas as her sidekick. Audrey’s narration is both ponderous and polemical, as she sees her pursuit of her goals and this investigation as part of a crusade for women. She declares that the slain aren’t merely prostitutes but “daughters and wives and mothers,” but she’s also made it a point to deny any alignment with the profiled victims: “I am not going as a prostitute. I am simply blending in.” Audrey also expresses a narrow view of her desired gender role, asserting that “I was determined to be both pretty and fierce,” as if to say that physical beauty and liking “girly” things are integral to feminism. The graphic descriptions of mutilated women don’t do much to speed the pace.
Perhaps a more genuinely enlightened protagonist would have made this debut more engaging . (Historical thriller. 15-18)Pub Date: Sept. 20, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-316-27349-7
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Jimmy Patterson/Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A fast-paced supernatural mystery ideal for fans of horror games.
The game knows her darkest secret—and it might be trying to kill her.
Wracked with guilt over her little sister’s recent death, 17-year-old Vivian Reynolds leaps at the opportunity to play an online escape room horror game called Locked In that was anonymously emailed to her. In hopes that her return to streaming will help financially support her parents, Viv starts a practice playthrough by herself to test the waters. When the game asks her to confess a secret, Viv admits that she killed her sister. Uncanny events follow in the aftermath of her surreptitious confession, resulting in her parents and peers losing trust in her. With the help of Ash, a fellow social outcast, Viv becomes sure that a demonic clone is trying to ruin her life by committing heinous acts in her name. Told in Viv’s first-person perspective, the story has an eeriness that’s complemented by quippy jokes and gaming references. The plot twists are numerous and satisfying, helping to build suspense as readers try to figure out the mystery. Classic horror imagery is paired with a flawed protagonist who reckons with the guilt and grief caused by her habit of lying and her obsession with streaming. Viv’s mom is white, and her dad is Japanese American; Ash reads white.
A fast-paced supernatural mystery ideal for fans of horror games. (content warning) (Horror. 15-18)Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2024
ISBN: 9798890030764
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Page Street
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2024
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