Immersed in multilayered personal relationships and engrossing mysteries.
A young medium and her ex–best friend are haunted by ghosts from their own pasts.
Sixteen-year-old Mina Zanetti has finally convinced her mother to fully train her as a medium in the secret family business. But Mina’s first night goes wrong in a way that is deeply tied to her former best friend, Evelyn Mackenzie, and the friendship-ending mistake they made by attempting a summoning together 6 years prior. Pushed by desperation, socio-economically disadvantaged Evelyn’s second summoning unleashes dangerous consequences for both girls. At the heart of their troubles are spirits tied to a scandal that rocked their idyllic Long Island town when they were children: the unsolved murders of three teenagers. Between the mechanics of mediumship and the twists and turns of the mystery of what brought the Cliffside Trio to their bad ends, the bisexual leads’ growing reconnection turns toward mutual romantic feelings. Their relationship reads well because of their respect for one another, shared struggles against isolation, and contrasting personalities (put-together, controlled Mina designs her own fashion collection, while fiery, environmentally minded Evelyn wants to escape their town to study marine ecology). Side characters broaden the world and mysteries, appearing in ways that never slow the plot (with lovely depictions of female friendships in particular). The descriptions of the magic and hauntings are sensory delights, and the ending leaves plot threads for future books. Main characters are White, and there’s diversity among side characters.
Immersed in multilayered personal relationships and engrossing mysteries. (Paranormal. 12-18)Pub Date: April 19, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5753-6
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Jan. 25, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2022
A uniquely arranged bouquet of terrors, as disturbing as it is beautiful.
A family’s secrets rise to the surface as a young man investigates a suspected murder.
Evander, who’s 17 and lonely, never leaves his room in the manor on Hazelthorn Estate. He’s told he’s too fragile and is locked away “for his safety” while an elderly butler feeds him brain-addling “medicine.” But one night changes Evander’s life—and the manor’s future—forever. Byron Lennox-Hall, Evander’s billionaire guardian and the family’s patriarch, dies unexpectedly. Relatives descend upon Hazelthorn like vultures as a shocking twist reveals that Byron left everything to Evander alone. Without Byron around to keep his only grandchild and presumed heir, Laurence “Laurie” Lennox-Hall, away from his ward, Laurie and Evander become the unlikeliest of allies. When they were boys, Laurie attempted to kill Evander—but, maddeningly, Evander can’t stop thinking about him. He also suspects that someone murdered Byron. Drews’ latest starts off as a straightforward whodunit and turns into something that’s far more sinister—and delicious. From descriptions of moth-eaten decay to vivid floral imagery, Drews luxuriates in atmospheric prose. Their literary green thumb nurtures intertwining themes of monstrosity and abuse alongside yearning, first love, queerness, and mystery. The slow-burn romance at the root of this blend of gothic and body horror is as tender as it is unforgettable. Evander is cued as autistic, and main characters present white.
A uniquely arranged bouquet of terrors, as disturbing as it is beautiful. (author’s note) (Horror. 13-18)Pub Date: Oct. 28, 2025
ISBN: 9781250376299
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
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
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