A detail-bloated but utterly addictive ghost story.
Nancy Drew meets Ghost Hunters in this queer thriller.
High school junior Dare Chase is headed to New Hope, Virginia. After her boyfriend broke up with her, their ghost-hunting YouTube series came to an end. Now, she has accepted a monthlong internship restoring the Arrington Estate where 17-year-old Atheleen Bell mysteriously drowned in 1992—the subject of Dare’s new podcast, Attachments. Dare clicks with the two other interns: Holly, a local teen desperate to leave her hometown, and college student Quinn, who is assisting her mother, who owns the estate and wants to convert it into a museum. As Dare and Quinn take tentative steps toward a romantic relationship—Dare’s first with another girl—the trio begins to experience signs of the paranormal, including scratching in the walls, a haunted doll, and ominous painted messages. Could the spirit of Atheleen be responsible, or does the mystery go even deeper? Marsh gives Dare a strong, confident voice, portraying her Type 1 diabetes as a challenge she gains strength from learning to handle responsibly. The female-centered cast is shown to be both complex and human. Segments from Attachments appear only at the beginning and end—the story would have benefited from more—and the backstory grows heavy, leaving readers with too many names to track and derailing the otherwise exceptional plot. The book follows a White default; Quinn has a White mom and Puerto Rican dad.
A detail-bloated but utterly addictive ghost story. (Paranormal. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-984836-15-1
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
Disappointingly uneven.
A group of teenagers sets out to find answers surrounding their sleepy town’s haunted past.
When high school golden couple Brad and Shelley are found dead at the abandoned Carrington Manor, the residents of the quiet California town of Sanera are panicked. Quarterback Brad was at the old house hoping to film the Carrington Ghoul for his show, Truly Haunted. Seniors Cam, Jonesy, and Amber, along with new girl Buffy, decide to solve the murders themselves, leading them to a series of terrifying discoveries. After an explosive beginning, the plot tapers off into an overly repetitive narrative that contains more telling than showing. Debut author Wood creates characters with thoughtfully imagined backgrounds, such as Jonesy’s mom’s alcoholism, that unfortunately aren’t integrated into the plot or explored beyond giving the teens reasons to be away from home. Similarly, many characters have traumatic pasts that will intrigue readers, but those backstories remain underdeveloped. Still, the action scenes and detailed descriptions of Carrington Manor are engaging. The story contains positive queer representation: Amber is bisexual, and Cam and Jonesy begin to acknowledge their feelings for one another in a growing relationship containing touching moments. The accessible writing alternates among several points of view. Most characters present white, and a mention of Amber’s braids may be intended to cue that she’s Black.
Disappointingly uneven. (Horror. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2025
ISBN: 9798225006143
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
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