Mystery, romance and insider music-industry detail distinguish this intriguing 1960s coming-of-age story.
An aspiring songwriter accepts a summer job with a music publisher in 1963 New York City, where she learns about her family, her friends and herself.
Expected to become a lawyer like her mother, father and brother, 16-year-old strong-willed Justice Green, known as JJ, wants to write songs that will “make people believe in possibilities and dreams.” Hired by Good Music Publishing to perform office work in exchange for feedback on her songs, JJ finds herself in the heart of the music-publishing industry, where she encounters her estranged uncle Bernie, an infamous industry mogul who takes her under his wing. When JJ meets Luke Silver, son of Bernie’s deceased former partner, they begin collaborating on a song. After befriending a burned-out African-American singer named Dulcie Brown, JJ’s devastated when Dulcie dies under suspicious circumstances, prompting her to investigate Dulcie’s past. JJ narrates her story, allowing readers to share her shock when the troubling truth about the twisted relationship that connects Bernie, Luke’s father and Dulcie is finally revealed. Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Weil, songwriter of “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling,” provides period detail about the fledgling rock-’n’-roll industry that adds verisimilitude to JJ and Luke’s surprising journey of discovery.
Mystery, romance and insider music-industry detail distinguish this intriguing 1960s coming-of-age story. (Historical fiction. 12-16)Pub Date: Jan. 27, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-61695-356-0
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Soho
Review Posted Online: Oct. 5, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2014
Heartbreaking, historical, and a little bit hopeful.
January 1945: as Russians advance through East Prussia, four teens’ lives converge in hopes of escape.
Returning to the successful formula of her highly lauded debut, Between Shades of Gray (2011), Sepetys combines research (described in extensive backmatter) with well-crafted fiction to bring to life another little-known story: the sinking (from Soviet torpedoes) of the German ship Wilhelm Gustloff. Told in four alternating voices—Lithuanian nurse Joana, Polish Emilia, Prussian forger Florian, and German soldier Alfred—with often contemporary cadences, this stints on neither history nor fiction. The three sympathetic refugees and their motley companions (especially an orphaned boy and an elderly shoemaker) make it clear that while the Gustloff was a German ship full of German civilians and soldiers during World War II, its sinking was still a tragedy. Only Alfred, stationed on the Gustloff, lacks sympathy; almost a caricature, he is self-delusional, unlikable, a Hitler worshiper. As a vehicle for exposition, however, and a reminder of Germany’s role in the war, he serves an invaluable purpose that almost makes up for the mustache-twirling quality of his petty villainy. The inevitability of the ending (including the loss of several characters) doesn’t change its poignancy, and the short chapters and slowly revealed back stories for each character guarantee the pages keep turning.
Heartbreaking, historical, and a little bit hopeful. (author’s note, research and sources, maps) (Historical fiction. 12-16)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-399-16030-1
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2015
PROFILES
An atmospheric and entertaining thriller perfect for snowy night chills.
A group of teens stranded in a snowstorm discovers a murderer in their midst.
While traveling on the highway to a state theater competition, Nell and her friends Min, Raven, Adam, and Jermaine are caught in a dangerous blizzard. Their teacher, Mrs. McElroy, who is driving the minivan, decides to stop for the night at the run-down and shady-looking Travel Inn and Out. The motel is labyrinthine and spooky, with dingy corridors and walls adorned with moldering kitsch. Nell and the gang meet another group of kids who are also stranded by the storm, making fast friends. A game of Two Truths and a Lie starts out flirty and fun but devolves into something more sinister when one slip of paper reads “I like to watch people die,” and “I’ve lost count of how many people I’ve killed.” The snow falls and the winds howl, and soon power and cell service are lost, cutting off the motel patrons from the outside world. As the first victim is discovered and the body count begins to grow, the terror becomes palpable. Everyone at the motel seems to have an insidious secret: Will Nell be able to uncover the killer before they strike again? An homage to Agatha Christie, Henry’s locked-room mystery is tautly plotted, with quick-moving nail-biting chapters, relatable characters, and a deftly wrought setting that paradoxically manages to feel both claustrophobic and sprawling. Nell is White; there is diversity among the secondary characters.
An atmospheric and entertaining thriller perfect for snowy night chills. (Mystery. 12-16)Pub Date: May 24, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-316-32333-8
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Christy Ottaviano Books
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2022
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