A standout, atmospheric horror tale derailed by its abrupt ending.
A hurricane ushers in a flood of evil in Savannah, Georgia, and the only girl capable of seeing the truth fights to save the souls of her loved ones.
After losing her best friend, Carly, during Hurricane Josephine a year ago, Dovey lives in a haze of antipsychotic medication—until the day she spots Carly in their favorite coffee shop, very much alive. Spurred by the sighting, Dovey ditches her meds, and it isn’t long before she’s seeing things no one else can: people with black, dead eyes and an unearthly-looking girl with fox ears. She follows one such creature to a run-down bar where she meets Isaac, a handsome stranger who lights her way down the rabbit hole of horror pulsing through Savannah: Demons are real, and Carly’s soul has been made a servant of one. Racing through a landscape thick with growing evil, Dovey sets off to save both her best friend’s soul and Savannah itself. Dawson draws an immersive, eerie setting and expertly unravels Savannah’s many dark secrets. Each skin-crawling demonic encounter couples with Dovey’s fighting spirit to propel the gruesome tale into an engaging page-turner. However, the swift ending provides little closure and will leave readers scratching their heads, wanting more.
A standout, atmospheric horror tale derailed by its abrupt ending. (Horror. 14-18)Pub Date: Aug. 5, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4424-8378-1
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: June 9, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
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
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.
A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.
Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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