Brewer weaves sexuality and identity into the story but does not make them the engine for it; the result is a rich,...
Adrien can’t get away from his wicked sister fast enough after his adoptive parents die in a horrific accident; it takes something huge to get him back in the same city as his sister, his past, the ghosts he’s been trying to outrun, and danger he doesn’t see coming.
Brewer writes from Adrien’s point of view, allowing readers to feel deeply some very painful parts of his life, the arrogance that masks his self-doubt, his humor and intentions, and how bewildering it is to be labeled by people who have no real idea who he is. Adrien is well-off, white, good-looking, and in a lot of pain. Readers understand why others see him as they do, and they know that none of them are exactly right. The central premise is engaging—did Adrien’s sister lead their parents to their deaths, and is he next?—and though the book is an easy read, it’s not a simplistic one. Brewer isn’t afraid to show how smart Adrien is, using cinematic, almost Gothic phrasing, humor, suspense, compassion, and sensitivity to the nebulous natures of sexuality and identity. The characters are richly wrought but broad enough to not be pinned into one era, which means this book will seem fresh to new readers for decades to come. Brewer confides to readers in a prologue that he has transitioned from Heather to Zac and has come out as gay. Although overarching issues of identity are felt in this book, Adrien is not a trans character.
Brewer weaves sexuality and identity into the story but does not make them the engine for it; the result is a rich, authentic read. (Mystery. 13-18)Pub Date: May 3, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-230791-0
Page Count: 288
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
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
Cracking page-turner with a multiethnic band of misfits with differing sexual orientations who satisfyingly, believably jell...
Adolescent criminals seek the haul of a lifetime in a fantasyland at the beginning of its industrial age.
The dangerous city of Ketterdam is governed by the Merchant Council, but in reality, large sectors of the city are given over to gangs who run the gambling dens and brothels. The underworld's rising star is 17-year-old Kaz Brekker, known as Dirtyhands for his brutal amorality. Kaz walks with chronic pain from an old injury, but that doesn't stop him from utterly destroying any rivals. When a councilman offers him an unimaginable reward to rescue a kidnapped foreign chemist—30 million kruge!—Kaz knows just the team he needs to assemble. There's Inej, an itinerant acrobat captured by slavers and sold to a brothel, now a spy for Kaz; the Grisha Nina, with the magical ability to calm and heal; Matthias the zealot, hunter of Grishas and caught in a hopeless spiral of love and vengeance with Nina; Wylan, the privileged boy with an engineer's skills; and Jesper, a sharpshooter who keeps flirting with Wylan. Bardugo broadens the universe she created in the Grisha Trilogy, sending her protagonists around countries that resemble post-Renaissance northern Europe, where technology develops in concert with the magic that's both coveted and despised. It’s a highly successful venture, leaving enough open questions to cause readers to eagerly await Volume 2.
Cracking page-turner with a multiethnic band of misfits with differing sexual orientations who satisfyingly, believably jell into a family . (Fantasy. 14 & up)Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-62779-212-7
Page Count: 480
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2015
BOOK TO SCREEN
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