This thriller delivers on all levels—teen readers may very well devour this novel in one sitting.
Carlisle’s YA thriller revolves around a series of gruesome murders that could be attributed to a mythical creature.
Seventeen-year-old Eliza Loft’s high-school experience in Whitehall—a “Podunk” town in the Adirondack Mountain region of New York—isn’t exactly idyllic. After her mother died of cancer when Eliza was 12 years old, the teen rebelled, and on a drunken night with her two best friends up in the woods, she did some regrettable things. In an inebriated haze, she also witnessed the brutal murder of an older girl from her school district. After vowing with her friends to never share the events of that night with anyone, four years pass, and Eliza becomes estranged from the two other girls, who become popular while she ends up a loner. When each of the three girls finds a photo of the dead girl with a message (“I know what you did”) in their lockers, panic ensues—no one else could possibly know. When one of Eliza’s (now former) best friends turns up dead shortly thereafter, Eliza not only becomes a suspect but also the killer’s next potential target. With her new friend Simon—a hardcore bigfoot enthusiast—accompanying her, she attempts to discover who, or what, is behind the murders. Carlisle’s story is a real page-turner. While the bigfoot element is certainly intriguing, it’s the author’s insightful depiction of the teenage experience—battling self-doubt, dealing with bullying and crushes, finding one’s place in the world—that makes Eliza’s story so emotionally resonant and compelling. Her grief over her mother’s death is particularly powerful: “But death doesn’t care about what you need. It comes without warning, takes everything from you until all you’re left with are a bunch of broken pieces and no picture to guide you on how to fit them back together.”
This thriller delivers on all levels—teen readers may very well devour this novel in one sitting.Pub Date: today
ISBN: 9798330344949
Page Count: 340
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Oct. 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind.
In this companion novel to 2013’s If He Had Been With Me, three characters tell their sides of the story.
Finn’s narrative starts three days before his death. He explores the progress of his unrequited love for best friend Autumn up until the day he finally expresses his feelings. Finn’s story ends with his tragic death, which leaves his close friends devastated, unmoored, and uncertain how to go on. Jack’s section follows, offering a heartbreaking look at what it’s like to live with grief. Jack works to overcome the anger he feels toward Sylvie, the girlfriend Finn was breaking up with when he died, and Autumn, the girl he was preparing to build his life around (but whom Jack believed wasn’t good enough for Finn). But when Jack sees how Autumn’s grief matches his own, it changes their understanding of one another. Autumn’s chapters trace her life without Finn as readers follow her struggles with mental health and balancing love and loss. Those who have read the earlier book will better connect with and feel for these characters, particularly since they’ll have a more well-rounded impression of Finn. The pain and anger is well written, and the novel highlights the most troublesome aspects of young adulthood: overconfidence sprinkled with heavy insecurities, fear-fueled decisions, bad communication, and brash judgments. Characters are cued white.
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind. (author’s note, content warning) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781728276229
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.
A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.
Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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