A genuinely creepy ghost story that delves into religious trauma.
Ghost hunters seek to solve a decades-old mystery in this compelling horror debut.
Two years ago, the foursome behind the “Ghost Hawks” YouTube channel—Riley Fox, Evelyn Cho, Colton Pierce, and Ethan Hale—spent the night at a Catholic reform school with the goal of finding out what happened to the five students and one priest who mysteriously disappeared from Saint Dominic Savio’s School for Troubled Youths over winter break in 1982. Though four young YouTubers entered the building to investigate that night, only three left. Two years later, the remaining Ghost Hawks are offered a chance to return to Dominic House with Jordan Jones, the woman behind the popular Netflix ghost-hunting series Spirit Seekers, to film their experience. Though Jordan is offering them monetary compensation, 18-year-old Riley’s primary reason for acquiescing is to figure out what happened to their missing friend, his boyfriend, Ethan. The book’s format, which switches between the events of two years ago and the present day, lends an urgency to the story; readers will likely not want to put it down. Its plot-driven nature, though, leaves little room for character development, other than that of bad boy Colton, who’s been ostracized for selling out his friends to the tabloids. Most characters read white; Evelyn’s name signals Korean heritage, and Jordan is cued Black.
A genuinely creepy ghost story that delves into religious trauma. (Horror. 14-18)Pub Date: July 16, 2024
ISBN: 9780063324855
Page Count: 304
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: April 20, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2024
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
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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