A thoroughly enjoyable, suspenseful supernatural tale.
Something wicked this way comes in acclaimed horror writer Sutherland’s YA debut.
When 11th grader Josephine and her family head off on a winter vacation to their newly inherited mansion in Vermont, they are each dreaming of a place to relax and recharge for a week. Josephine is especially eager to escape the burgeoning powers that allow her to hear and enter other people’s thoughts but leave her with debilitating headaches. As they settle in, the house seems perfectly tailored to their family of seven. The family’s dreams, however, soon turn into nightmares, as Josephine begins seeing apparitions, while her parents and siblings start suffering from short-term memory loss. As events grow stranger and more dangerous, Josephine starts to suspect that there is an evil lurking behind their closed doors. When a ghost named Dorcas appears to her, Josephine is unable to determine whether this specter is friend or foe. But when she finds out the truth about the house’s history and Dorcas’ past, Josephine realizes that her family’s lives are in grave danger, and she’s the only person who may be able to save them. Major characters are coded white; after experiencing attraction to a local girl, Josephine questions her inkling that she might be asexual. Grimm’s fairy-tale references are sprinkled throughout, adding a macabre veil to an equally creepy story. This moody, atmospheric novel ramps up to a spine-tingling surprise twist after a slow-burn first half.
A thoroughly enjoyable, suspenseful supernatural tale. (author’s note) (Supernatural. 12-18)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781774880968
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2023
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
This high-suspense thriller hits all the marks with its slow reveal and cross-genre appeal.
Creepy supernatural executioners roam the woods at night in Dennard’s latest.
On the cusp of the year 2000, Freddie Gellar, a high school senior and self-proclaimed Answer Finder, untangles a plot worthy of a professional detective. After she reports hearing screaming in the woods and accidentally gets students from rival school Fortin Prep arrested, Freddie becomes a member of the Berm High Prank Squad. Suddenly, popular classmates—like the attractive Kyle Friedman and class president Laina Steward—notice her. With her best friend, Divya Srivastava, by her side, Freddie navigates teen life and her unexpected physical attraction to Theo Porter, who’s Fortin’s prank master. Meanwhile, grisly goings-on ensue as murdered bodies with deep ties to village lore appear in the woods. Freddie, a fan of The X-Files, channels her inner Scully and Mulder to solve the mystery—but as she seeks answers, she finds more than she bargained for. Allusions to the ’90s, including Nokia phones and boy bands, realistically frame the gory content within the setting. Sensual scenes add romantic appeal, and Freddie’s narrative voice echoes the emotionally intense refrains of adolescence as she navigates coming-of-age themes. Freddie and Theo are cued white, and the supporting cast contains broad ethnic diversity as well as queer representation.
This high-suspense thriller hits all the marks with its slow reveal and cross-genre appeal. (map) (Supernatural thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2025
ISBN: 9781250334664
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Tor Teen
Review Posted Online: June 13, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2025
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
