An uneven but worthwhile read.
It’s 1987, and everybody in the fictional coastal town of Santa Maria, California, knows the dangerous Brayburn women.
When Mayhem Brayburn was 3, she and her mother, Roxy, left Santa Maria trying to escape the burden that generations of Brayburn women have carried. Thirteen years later, May and Roxy flee May’s abusive stepfather, returning to the family home to stay with Roxy’s twin sister, Elle, and her foster kids: Neve and siblings Jason and Kidd. Now May engages for the first time with all the secrets Roxy kept all these years and the truth behind the Brayburn women’s burden—and self-appointed mission—just as a serial kidnapper is on the loose on the beaches of Santa Maria. Paying open homage to the ’80s movie The Lost Boys, the novel addresses issues such as domestic abuse, suicide, sexual assault, and addiction, interweaving them with magic, deadly violence, and vigilante justice. May’s move from innocence to being an eager vigilante who feels empowered by killing as well as her sudden romance with Jason feel too hurried, but the story’s focus on May and Roxy’s relationship, its interrogation of revenge, as well as the exploration of destiny versus agency are ultimately rewarding. Journals and letters from Brayburn women through the years add to the story. May’s mother is white and her father was Brazilian; Jason and Kidd are biracial (black/white), Neve is white, and Elle is lesbian.
An uneven but worthwhile read. (Fantasy. 15-18)Pub Date: July 14, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-29793-8
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: May 1, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2020
Perhaps a more genuinely enlightened protagonist would have made this debut more engaging
Audrey Rose Wadsworth, 17, would rather perform autopsies in her uncle’s dark laboratory than find a suitable husband, as is the socially acceptable rite of passage for a young, white British lady in the late 1800s.
The story immediately brings Audrey into a fractious pairing with her uncle’s young assistant, Thomas Cresswell. The two engage in predictable rounds of “I’m smarter than you are” banter, while Audrey’s older brother, Nathaniel, taunts her for being a girl out of her place. Horrific murders of prostitutes whose identities point to associations with the Wadsworth estate prompt Audrey to start her own investigation, with Thomas as her sidekick. Audrey’s narration is both ponderous and polemical, as she sees her pursuit of her goals and this investigation as part of a crusade for women. She declares that the slain aren’t merely prostitutes but “daughters and wives and mothers,” but she’s also made it a point to deny any alignment with the profiled victims: “I am not going as a prostitute. I am simply blending in.” Audrey also expresses a narrow view of her desired gender role, asserting that “I was determined to be both pretty and fierce,” as if to say that physical beauty and liking “girly” things are integral to feminism. The graphic descriptions of mutilated women don’t do much to speed the pace.
Perhaps a more genuinely enlightened protagonist would have made this debut more engaging . (Historical thriller. 15-18)Pub Date: Sept. 20, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-316-27349-7
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Jimmy Patterson/Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A fast-paced supernatural mystery ideal for fans of horror games.
The game knows her darkest secret—and it might be trying to kill her.
Wracked with guilt over her little sister’s recent death, 17-year-old Vivian Reynolds leaps at the opportunity to play an online escape room horror game called Locked In that was anonymously emailed to her. In hopes that her return to streaming will help financially support her parents, Viv starts a practice playthrough by herself to test the waters. When the game asks her to confess a secret, Viv admits that she killed her sister. Uncanny events follow in the aftermath of her surreptitious confession, resulting in her parents and peers losing trust in her. With the help of Ash, a fellow social outcast, Viv becomes sure that a demonic clone is trying to ruin her life by committing heinous acts in her name. Told in Viv’s first-person perspective, the story has an eeriness that’s complemented by quippy jokes and gaming references. The plot twists are numerous and satisfying, helping to build suspense as readers try to figure out the mystery. Classic horror imagery is paired with a flawed protagonist who reckons with the guilt and grief caused by her habit of lying and her obsession with streaming. Viv’s mom is white, and her dad is Japanese American; Ash reads white.
A fast-paced supernatural mystery ideal for fans of horror games. (content warning) (Horror. 15-18)Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2024
ISBN: 9798890030764
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Page Street
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2024
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