Mystery fans may wish for more sleuthing; those following the twins' love lives and military careers will find plenty of...
This second adventure featuring twin amateur sleuths Steven and Denny Anderson focuses on the teens' personal lives.
Steven has sworn off dating, but multiple girls are pursuing him. Denny, finally out as gay to friends and family, is dating Brian and eager to lose his virginity before leaving to train for the Coast Guard at the end of the summer. Meanwhile, a tree falls on the Andersons' house, and the twins take up temporary residence on their friend Nathan Carter's boat. There are scuba-diving lessons with a cantankerous war veteran and his teenage daughter, a run-in with a strict and homophobic aunt, a martial arts challenge and a variety of relationship conflicts. Among so many subplots, the titular secret, which involves a mysterious, crashed satellite and violent out-of-towners eager to retrieve it, fades somewhat into the background. The result is a busy but lively teen drama with Steven and Denny's practical, caring, sometimes antagonistic and often humorous brotherly relationship at its center.
Mystery fans may wish for more sleuthing; those following the twins' love lives and military careers will find plenty of twists and turns to appreciate here. (Mystery. 14-16)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-60282-742-4
Page Count: 246
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Review Posted Online: July 24, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Smoothly written and packed with (perhaps too many) challenging issues, Hoyle’s debut may feel a bit glib and predictable to...
A teenager with epilepsy who has recently lost her father to cancer overcomes the depression induced by grief and illness as she acclimates to attending public school for the first time in several years and finds a boyfriend.
Home-schooled and reluctant to engage with strangers, Emilie spends her spare time reading, cuddling with her therapy dog, Hitch, and playing board games with Cindy, her 8-year-old neighbor. Forced to begin classes at the local high school, Emilie is determined to remain aloof. A smart, creative girl named Ayla and a hot (and very nice) boy named Chatham befriend her, making it hard to stay distant and self-contained. Conflicts with her mother, who is just beginning to date, and concern about the potential embarrassment of having a seizure at school further complicate Emilie’s life. Miserable and self-absorbed, Emilie is exceedingly articulate. Indeed, her first-person narration sometimes sounds older than her years, particularly when describing her crush. Extended metaphors abound, most involving water. That’s logical given the Outer Banks setting and Emilie’s fears, but they slow the flow of the plot and contribute to the not entirely believable tone. Emilie seems to be white, and so does her world, aside from the occasional student of color.
Smoothly written and packed with (perhaps too many) challenging issues, Hoyle’s debut may feel a bit glib and predictable to some readers; others will swoon over the dreamy Chatham and root for Emilie to come out of her shell. (Romance. 14-16)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-310-75851-8
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Blink
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2017
Out of the vampire-hunting-ground frying pan into the freakish-religious-cult fire.
Gene, Sissy and the boys aren't free of the bloodsuckers yet. Their thrilling escape from the hunting compound at the conclusion of The Hunt (2012) brought them to a serendipitous boat; now they rocket down the river as the monstrously strong vampires pursue them by night. Will their quest lead them to the promised Land of Milk and Honey, Fruit and Sunshine? A hidden village of generous, well-fed, happily singing villagers seems to glow with all the hope of their promised paradise. But all is not well in this compound: Gene worries that Sissy is forced to stay apart from both the boys and the village's eerily cheerful and heavily pregnant girls. As further evidence of wrongness, the village's charismatic leader has "smooth, effeminate" skin, and he and his henchmen are "all blubber and liquid fat"—clear indicators of his untrustworthiness and the general air of sexual violence. The standard creepy-cult-compound chapter of many a dystopian series is enhanced by a fast-paced escape sequence, peppered with the grotesqueries that mark Fukuda's vampire mythos. A few mysteries are solved, only to reveal further puzzles, and it all wraps up with a cinematic cliffhanger. A lengthy interlude in creepsterville, with the promise of a return to gory thrills. (Science fiction. 14-16)
Pub Date: Jan. 29, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-250-00511-3
Page Count: 336
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Review Posted Online: Dec. 1, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2012
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