A bright, resourceful heroine makes her mark in this first novel with a shaky, brutal premise.
A teenage girl uncovers a shadowy conspiracy threatening the nation’s dogs in this YA thriller.
Torrance Olivia Maddox—called Tor—is about to turn 16. Her main concerns: getting the pas de deux in the holiday ballet show, studying vocabulary, hanging with friends, and following CNN obsessively. At the dog park with her dog, Cocoa, she meets a cute guy but soon learns that both the young man and his dog died suddenly of an unknown type of influenza. Spurred by an anonymous blogger (“Are you aware that Man’s Best Friend just became Public Enemy Number One?”) and CNN’s coverage of the dangerous new flu strain, she begins investigating. Her research and intelligent deductions convince her that dogs are the vector, yet the authorities say nothing. She writes an angry email to CNN and men in black start tailing her; meanwhile, the government mandates “protective isolation” for dogs in affected areas. But what Tor witnesses convinces her that most of the dogs are healthy and that people aren’t getting their dogs back. She decides to take action, putting herself and Cocoa at risk. The smart, curious, funny Tor is an appealing young heroine. Although, she’s not entirely realistic—she’s a 5-foot-10-inch ballerina whose only “flaw” is a casual sense of style. Her friends “beg [her] to put on the micro styles that make them hate their own thighs.” The plot is suspenseful and balances the thrills with some laughs. However, Coley (Tor Maddox: Mistaken, 2015, etc.), asks readers to believe that millions of dog owners would obediently surrender their healthy, beloved pets to the government and ask no questions, a stretch at best. Also, the huge number of pets that die here is off-putting in the extreme.
A bright, resourceful heroine makes her mark in this first novel with a shaky, brutal premise.Pub Date: May 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-5088-6080-8
Page Count: 306
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Sept. 3, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A treat for mystery readers who enjoy being kept in suspense.
Everyone believes that Salil Singh killed his girlfriend, Andrea Bell, five years ago—except Pippa Fitz-Amobi.
Pip has known and liked Sal since childhood; he’d supported her when she was being bullied in middle school. For her senior capstone project, Pip researches the disappearance of former Fairview High student Andie, last seen on April 18, 2014, by her younger sister, Becca. The original investigation concluded with most of the evidence pointing to Sal, who was found dead in the woods, apparently by suicide. Andie’s body was never recovered, and Sal was assumed by most to be guilty of abduction and murder. Unable to ignore the gaps in the case, Pip sets out to prove Sal’s innocence, beginning with interviewing his younger brother, Ravi. With his help, Pip digs deeper, unveiling unsavory facts about Andie and the real reason Sal’s friends couldn’t provide him with an alibi. But someone is watching, and Pip may be in more danger than she realizes. Pip’s sleuthing is both impressive and accessible. Online articles about the case and interview transcripts are provided throughout, and Pip’s capstone logs offer insights into her thought processes as new evidence and suspects arise. Jackson’s debut is well-executed and surprises readers with a connective web of interesting characters and motives. Pip and Andie are white, and Sal is of Indian descent.
A treat for mystery readers who enjoy being kept in suspense. (Mystery. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-9636-0
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
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
BOOK REVIEW
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