An interesting premise marred by plausibility issues.
A wilderness challenge with a big prize brings out bad behavior.
Wilde Academy’s so elite that a dozen students compete for the title of Champion rather than mere valedictorian. Partial scholarship student Chloe Gatti needs the $600,000 prize to help her family; her younger sister has cancer and mounting medical bills. Chloe is selected along with Hayes Stratford, her ex-boyfriend, some friends she lost in the breakup, and a few cartoonishly snobbish classmates. Someone is blackmailing and undermining Chloe from the start. The trials aren’t terribly thrilling—think riddles and trivia—until the blackmailer moves on to dangerous levels of sabotage. Chloe also ends up back in the orbit of handsome, privileged Hayes, seeking the truth of the trials three years prior, when his beloved older brother died in what Hayes believes wasn’t an accident. The duo, who are cued white, end up in a tentative alliance that’s ripe with unresolved romantic feelings. Chloe is economically disadvantaged and described as being taller, curvier, and heavier than the other girls (although her size goes unremarked upon by the characters). The vagueness of the portrayal of her identity undermines the effectiveness of the representation. Other forms of diversity in the cast also lack complexity, and the characters’ motivations are generally weak. The plot relies on heavy suspension of disbelief, head-scratching logical leaps, and lapses of common sense that are sure to frustrate readers. The predictable ending leans into theatrical indulgence.
An interesting premise marred by plausibility issues. (Thriller. 13-18)Pub Date: Jan. 21, 2025
ISBN: 9780063287648
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2024
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 lukewarm thriller.
In England, a group of teenagers tries to stay alive when a long weekend in an abandoned castle goes wrong.
When Bessie and her friends decide to join a party their classmate Allegra is throwing in her family’s abandoned castle before it’s converted into apartments, they think the biggest issues they’ll face are making it there before a big storm hits and keeping their plans secret from their parents and teachers. Once they arrive at the castle, however, Bessie and best friend Kashvi discover menacing graffiti and evidence that someone has been staying in the cellar. They also learn that protestors from the nearby village are angry about the development plans for the castle—one of them even argues that it would be better to burn it down. A handful of classmates manage to get there before the storm gets too severe. But when the teens wake up the next day to discover one of their own dead, and the storm makes it impossible for them to leave, they quickly realize that they’re in danger. But is the killer one of the members of the Facebook protestors’ group…or one of their own? Despite the book’s intriguing setup, the prose is dominated by repetitive conversations that convey little substance. Still, readers may still find themselves propelled forward by a need to discover the identity of the murderer. The central cast is racially diverse.
A lukewarm thriller. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Dec. 3, 2024
ISBN: 9780593704080
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
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