Truly exceptional; a standout.
A new student unearths a tangled web of secrets after a popular girl is found dead.
In this stand-alone graphic novel, Abby Kita is trying to adjust to life at Wilberton, an all-girls boarding school. Her roommate, Claire, barely acknowledges her, and Abby spends most days trying to ignore the unkind whispers of her classmates. The members of the Wilberton Theater Society stage a successful run of Romeo and Juliet—then the body of Elizabeth Woodward, who played Juliet, is found after a raucous cast party. Rumors run rampant, and Abby’s tragic past seems to be coming back to haunt her as the other girls begin to speculate about her involvement in Elizabeth’s death. Abby gradually builds a tenuous friendship with Claire. Together, can they find out not only the truth but its connection to a dark, shocking secret buried in Wilberton’s history? With its stunning two-toned gray and pink illustrations that cue a 1980s setting through images such as a Walkman, phone booth, and clunky desktop computer, this collaboration between Tamaki and Goux isn’t just a clever and heartbreaking mystery but a deeper examination of bullying, homophobia, and belonging. The central puzzle is certain to leave readers breathlessly enthralled, turning pages as quickly as possible to get to the shocking truth behind Elizabeth’s demise. Abby presents Japanese American, and most other characters read white.
Truly exceptional; a standout. (Graphic mystery. 12-18)Pub Date: Aug. 19, 2025
ISBN: 9781419768460
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Abrams Fanfare
Review Posted Online: May 16, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2025
A treat for mystery readers who enjoy being kept in suspense.
Everyone believes that Salil Singh killed his girlfriend, Andrea Bell, five years ago—except Pippa Fitz-Amobi.
Pip has known and liked Sal since childhood; he’d supported her when she was being bullied in middle school. For her senior capstone project, Pip researches the disappearance of former Fairview High student Andie, last seen on April 18, 2014, by her younger sister, Becca. The original investigation concluded with most of the evidence pointing to Sal, who was found dead in the woods, apparently by suicide. Andie’s body was never recovered, and Sal was assumed by most to be guilty of abduction and murder. Unable to ignore the gaps in the case, Pip sets out to prove Sal’s innocence, beginning with interviewing his younger brother, Ravi. With his help, Pip digs deeper, unveiling unsavory facts about Andie and the real reason Sal’s friends couldn’t provide him with an alibi. But someone is watching, and Pip may be in more danger than she realizes. Pip’s sleuthing is both impressive and accessible. Online articles about the case and interview transcripts are provided throughout, and Pip’s capstone logs offer insights into her thought processes as new evidence and suspects arise. Jackson’s debut is well-executed and surprises readers with a connective web of interesting characters and motives. Pip and Andie are white, and Sal is of Indian descent.
A treat for mystery readers who enjoy being kept in suspense. (Mystery. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-9636-0
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
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
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