A dense fever dream that’s not for the faint of heart.
Secondary school can be a nightmare, and that’s particularly true of a macabre school governed by peculiar social rules and supernatural machinations in this novel translated from French.
The story follows four students, each feeling like outcasts in their own ways. First-year Iris abandons her childhood friend in his time of need and suffers the consequences. Pierre, the odd one out who’s without a partner to share his desk in a class of 27 students, is violently bullied and ostracized. Madeleine feels insecure and ascribes mystical powers to herself. Guy is paired with a new girl in class and starts to question the tyrannical rule of the prince who dominates his class. Meanwhile, a small cabal of students who call themselves the Top-Secret Club meet to discuss the underlying cause of the school’s peculiarities, which they ascribe to the schmoil, a supernatural substance in the pipes. All of this is a metaphor for the isolating perils of existing as an adolescent within the social trappings of schools that so often operate according to elaborate, cliquish, and downright indecipherable social conventions. This is well-trodden territory, and this iteration feels particularly impenetrable. The prose is clunky, and the circumstances of the characters feel so odd that they nearly obscure the familiar emotions of loneliness, isolation, and insecurity that readers might otherwise find relatable.
A dense fever dream that’s not for the faint of heart. (Paranormal. 13-18)Pub Date: Oct. 10, 2023
ISBN: 9781609459567
Page Count: 200
Publisher: Europa Editions
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
Disappointingly uneven.
A group of teenagers sets out to find answers surrounding their sleepy town’s haunted past.
When high school golden couple Brad and Shelley are found dead at the abandoned Carrington Manor, the residents of the quiet California town of Sanera are panicked. Quarterback Brad was at the old house hoping to film the Carrington Ghoul for his show, Truly Haunted. Seniors Cam, Jonesy, and Amber, along with new girl Buffy, decide to solve the murders themselves, leading them to a series of terrifying discoveries. After an explosive beginning, the plot tapers off into an overly repetitive narrative that contains more telling than showing. Debut author Wood creates characters with thoughtfully imagined backgrounds, such as Jonesy’s mom’s alcoholism, that unfortunately aren’t integrated into the plot or explored beyond giving the teens reasons to be away from home. Similarly, many characters have traumatic pasts that will intrigue readers, but those backstories remain underdeveloped. Still, the action scenes and detailed descriptions of Carrington Manor are engaging. The story contains positive queer representation: Amber is bisexual, and Cam and Jonesy begin to acknowledge their feelings for one another in a growing relationship containing touching moments. The accessible writing alternates among several points of view. Most characters present white, and a mention of Amber’s braids may be intended to cue that she’s Black.
Disappointingly uneven. (Horror. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2025
ISBN: 9798225006143
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
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