A twisty thriller exploring important social topics.
A true-crime fan on the hunt for a story connects with a former classmate who may be a killer.
When 18-year-old Kiri Dunsmore becomes a suspect in her survivalist influencer boyfriend Callum Massey’s murder after turning up in his bloody sweatshirt, Samara recognizes her as shy Katie Dunsmore from junior year English class. A self-professed obsessive true-crime fan, Sam is always on the lookout for a story, and realizing that Kiri could be her big break, she seizes the opportunity to strike up a friendship. Though Kiri isn’t willing to talk about what happened to Callum, the diary she lets Sam read spells out how she fell prey to his manipulation and control. As rumors swirl, Sam’s developing feelings for Kiri threaten to override her better judgment, even though Kiri still hasn’t been cleared of the murder. Although Sam feels more like a plot device than a fully rounded character, the combination of formats—video and podcast transcripts, diary entries—plus plenty of red herrings add intrigue as the story tackles consent, grooming, emotional abuse, mental illness, survivalist culture, eating disorders, and social media. Undeniable parallels to the tragic, widely covered 2021 murder of Gabby Petito underscore the slippery nature of abusive behaviors and illuminate warning signs for readers learning to navigate romantic relationships of their own. Kiri is white; other characters are minimally described and racially ambiguous.
A twisty thriller exploring important social topics. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 14, 2023
ISBN: 9780316536080
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
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
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
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