How to Survive History: How to Outrun a Tyrannosaurus, Escape Pompeii, Get Off the Titanic, and Survive the Rest of History's Deadliest Catastrophes
Cody Cassidy
Penguin Books
Nonfiction, History/Humor/Science
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: History is a dangerous place, but it also has some excellent sight-seeing. After all, where else are you going to witness herds of woolly mammoths or the splendor of 1400's Constantinople? If you managed to obtain a time machine, and avoided the pesky causality paradoxes that might erase your own existence, you could experience the vacation of a lifetime... but it's not much of a vacation if you don't make it home safely to share your photos on social media. If a Tyrannosaurus Rex crashes your Cretaceous-era picnic, could you get away? If your working vacation takes you to the construction of the Egyptian pyramids, how would you blend in? What if your trip to long-ago London coincides with the arrival of the Black Plague, or your around-the-world cruise drops you into Magellan's ships, or your Old West adventure lands you in the notorious Donner Party? Find out in this handy guide to some of the world's greatest disasters, and learn from those who survived.
REVIEW: As the description implies, this is a nice, light "popcorn history" book. Using records, archaeology, speculation, and some science, as well as numerous interviews with experts (not all of whom agree on the best courses of action to, say, survive the Titanic or escape Pompeii), Cassidy brings big ideas and moments down to a human scale. From facing off against giants of Earth's prehistory to surviving the darkest years of the Dark Ages to escaping the ravages of the worst tornado ever recorded in America and more, he whisks the reader/time traveler through highlights (or lowlights) of the past and offers survival tips for the savvy time tourist. Each entry is fairly short and contains interesting details, though a few gloss over what felt like important points and end a little abruptly. Overall, though, it's an intriguing little book of historical facts and factoids and speculations.
You Might Also Enjoy:
A SURVIVAL GUIDE: Living with Dinosaurs in the Jurassic Period (Dougal Dixon) - My Review
Terry Jones' Barbarians (Terry Jones and Alan Ereira) - My Review
Where's My Jetpack? (Daniel H. Wilson) - My Review
Friday, October 11, 2024
The Brides of High Hill (Nghi Vo)
The Brides of High Hill
The Singing Hills Cycle, Book 5
Nghi Vo
Tordotcom
Fiction, Fantasy
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: Cleric Chih continues their travels about the land in search of stories to record for the archives of Singing Hills. After a chance meeting on the road, they are asked to accompany young Pham Nhung and her parents on the way to an arranged marriage with the wealthy lord of Doi Cau. The man is much older than her, but such arranged marriages are not uncommon, and her family needs the wealth the union will bring. But something is not right in the home of Nhung's intended. The servants are sullen. The lord's son is acting very strange. And nobody seems willing to answer Chih's questions, especially about what happened to the lord of Doi Cau's previous brides...
REVIEW: Once again, the traveling cleric of Singing Hills finds themself pulled into another story brought to life around them, this time compelled by their heart as much as their calling: their feelings toward the young bride-to-be are more than friendly, and Nhung does not actively discourage the attention. This makes Chih a little more protective than they would be of most traveling companions, and a little more prone to sticking their nose into the matter of the arranged marriage, which was already far from a love match but starts to take on very sinister tones from the moment they pass through the lord's gates. There is a story here indeed, but not the one the cleric expects - one that may well be the last story they ever witness. Their talking hoopoe companion Almost Brilliant would be an asset in figuring things out, but the bird has not traveled to the compound with Chih, an absence they feel keenly, even as they pine for the woman they know they can never really be with. Something about this entry in the series felt a little bit thin or stretched compared to previous tales, in a way I can't quite identify but with left me a little less satisfied than I should have been by the end. It's still a decent, if dark, tale, and I still enjoy the characters and the world.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Nettle and Bone (T. Kingfisher) - My Review
The Tiger's Daughter (K. Arsenault Rivera) - My Review
The Empress of Salt and Fortune (Nghi Vo) - My Review
The Singing Hills Cycle, Book 5
Nghi Vo
Tordotcom
Fiction, Fantasy
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: Cleric Chih continues their travels about the land in search of stories to record for the archives of Singing Hills. After a chance meeting on the road, they are asked to accompany young Pham Nhung and her parents on the way to an arranged marriage with the wealthy lord of Doi Cau. The man is much older than her, but such arranged marriages are not uncommon, and her family needs the wealth the union will bring. But something is not right in the home of Nhung's intended. The servants are sullen. The lord's son is acting very strange. And nobody seems willing to answer Chih's questions, especially about what happened to the lord of Doi Cau's previous brides...
REVIEW: Once again, the traveling cleric of Singing Hills finds themself pulled into another story brought to life around them, this time compelled by their heart as much as their calling: their feelings toward the young bride-to-be are more than friendly, and Nhung does not actively discourage the attention. This makes Chih a little more protective than they would be of most traveling companions, and a little more prone to sticking their nose into the matter of the arranged marriage, which was already far from a love match but starts to take on very sinister tones from the moment they pass through the lord's gates. There is a story here indeed, but not the one the cleric expects - one that may well be the last story they ever witness. Their talking hoopoe companion Almost Brilliant would be an asset in figuring things out, but the bird has not traveled to the compound with Chih, an absence they feel keenly, even as they pine for the woman they know they can never really be with. Something about this entry in the series felt a little bit thin or stretched compared to previous tales, in a way I can't quite identify but with left me a little less satisfied than I should have been by the end. It's still a decent, if dark, tale, and I still enjoy the characters and the world.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Nettle and Bone (T. Kingfisher) - My Review
The Tiger's Daughter (K. Arsenault Rivera) - My Review
The Empress of Salt and Fortune (Nghi Vo) - My Review
Thursday, October 10, 2024
Hemlock Island (Kelly Armstrong)
Hemlock Island
Kelly Armstrong
St. Martin's Press
Fiction, Thriller
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: After her whirlwind marriage to a tech mogul ended during the pandemic, Laney Kilpatrick managed to remain friends with her ex, Kip. He even gave her the little private island in Lake Superior where they'd built their dream vacation home... an island inauspiciously named after a stand of poisonous hemlock. Unfortunately, Laney's modest salary as a teacher and the minimal income from her debut novel aren't nearly enough to afford the place, especially after her sister passed away and left her the guardian of teenager Madison, so she's been forced to offer Hemlock Island as a summer rental. Lately, though, strange goings-on have been spooking the clients: strange occult symbols, wind chimes of bones and feathers, escalating now to bloodstains and claw marks in a closet, as though something - or someone - had been trying to scratch their way out. After the latest renters abandon the place, Laney decides she needs to investigate things herself... and Madison isn't about to be left behind, not even for a night. Her ex-husband has also been alerted, as well as their mutual high school friends Jayla and Sadie - the latter of whom brings along her police detective brother Garrett. These are not the people she'd choose to bring with her, for various reasons, but there's no turning them away.
As soon as they set foot on Hemlock Island, it's clear that this is not just the work of some pranksters or yet more unruly renters. Something far more sinister is afoot, every discovery more chilling than the last. When the boat is destroyed, Laney and the rest find themselves stranded - and they are not alone. The very isolation that once drew Laney to Hemlock Island, too far from the mainland for telephones or cell signals, now turns it into the perfect trap, made all the worse as long-buried feelings and secrets between the friends are unearthed. Will any of them survive long enough to escape?
REVIEW: A group of fractured friends and lovers, an isolated location, a deadly threat, and no way out... Hemlock Island has all the standard thriller ingredients and uses them competently, delivering a serviceable, if not especially standout, tale.
Starting with a phone call from upset renters about the latest unusual incident on the island, the story kicks off with minimal dithering, assembling its cast and suggesting a storied history binding them as they head to Hemlock Island. They all have their reasons for joining Laney, some a little flimsier than others, that come out as they find themselves in over their heads on what seemed at first to be simple acts of vandalism. It goes without saying that, no, this isn't just some bored teens playing pranks or spoiled renters finding yet another way to wreck the property, but something much more dangerous... something that soon racks up a body count. Laney wavers between being an independent, proactive woman and a hesitant, even overcautious person too prone to giving others the benefit of the doubt even in exceptionally dire and dangerous situations. Much of her life has been bent to accommodate the wills and apparent wishes of those around her. Hemlock Island was a dream come true for her when she and Kip first went there, and it's the one thing that she's clung to just for her own sake; it and her niece Madison are the two things she will fight for with every fiber of her being, even against the evils she finds waiting for her. The other characters generally slot into familiar roles: the sassy, brassy best friend Jayla who believes in Laney more than Laney believes in herself, the "friend" Sadie who is more of a manipulator than an actual confidant (and who may or may not have her own agenda for including herself in the trip), the brash and hopelessly biased (not to mention poor at his apparent job) "detective" Garrett whose history is all too predictable within five minutes of meeting him, the supportive ex Kip who still will do anything for Laney, and the teen girl Madison who refuses to be coddled or protected by grown-ups who still see her as a child. The external tension of being stalked by a sadistic killer - human or supernatural - leads to old wounds being reopened, driving wedges between them when their only hope of survival is banding together.
Even with the familiar parts, Armstrong creates a solid sense of isolation and eeriness on Hemlock Island, each revelation and discovery upping the creepiness (and the gore; this is not a bloodless jump-scare story). There are times when Laney's tendency to lock up under stress gets a bit frustrating, and other times where she skirts the border of being another woman whose sole strength and motivation boils down to mothering. The nature of the threat occasionally feels a bit more nebulous than threatening, and the gore could be over the top and even numbing, losing some effectiveness after the umpteenth graphic description of a mutilated corpse. It came very close to losing a half-star, but managed to hang on by delivering pretty much exactly what it promised.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Those Across the River (Christopher Buehlman) - My Review
The Shining (Stephen King) - My Review
The Hollow Places (T. Kingfisher) - My Review
Kelly Armstrong
St. Martin's Press
Fiction, Thriller
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: After her whirlwind marriage to a tech mogul ended during the pandemic, Laney Kilpatrick managed to remain friends with her ex, Kip. He even gave her the little private island in Lake Superior where they'd built their dream vacation home... an island inauspiciously named after a stand of poisonous hemlock. Unfortunately, Laney's modest salary as a teacher and the minimal income from her debut novel aren't nearly enough to afford the place, especially after her sister passed away and left her the guardian of teenager Madison, so she's been forced to offer Hemlock Island as a summer rental. Lately, though, strange goings-on have been spooking the clients: strange occult symbols, wind chimes of bones and feathers, escalating now to bloodstains and claw marks in a closet, as though something - or someone - had been trying to scratch their way out. After the latest renters abandon the place, Laney decides she needs to investigate things herself... and Madison isn't about to be left behind, not even for a night. Her ex-husband has also been alerted, as well as their mutual high school friends Jayla and Sadie - the latter of whom brings along her police detective brother Garrett. These are not the people she'd choose to bring with her, for various reasons, but there's no turning them away.
As soon as they set foot on Hemlock Island, it's clear that this is not just the work of some pranksters or yet more unruly renters. Something far more sinister is afoot, every discovery more chilling than the last. When the boat is destroyed, Laney and the rest find themselves stranded - and they are not alone. The very isolation that once drew Laney to Hemlock Island, too far from the mainland for telephones or cell signals, now turns it into the perfect trap, made all the worse as long-buried feelings and secrets between the friends are unearthed. Will any of them survive long enough to escape?
REVIEW: A group of fractured friends and lovers, an isolated location, a deadly threat, and no way out... Hemlock Island has all the standard thriller ingredients and uses them competently, delivering a serviceable, if not especially standout, tale.
Starting with a phone call from upset renters about the latest unusual incident on the island, the story kicks off with minimal dithering, assembling its cast and suggesting a storied history binding them as they head to Hemlock Island. They all have their reasons for joining Laney, some a little flimsier than others, that come out as they find themselves in over their heads on what seemed at first to be simple acts of vandalism. It goes without saying that, no, this isn't just some bored teens playing pranks or spoiled renters finding yet another way to wreck the property, but something much more dangerous... something that soon racks up a body count. Laney wavers between being an independent, proactive woman and a hesitant, even overcautious person too prone to giving others the benefit of the doubt even in exceptionally dire and dangerous situations. Much of her life has been bent to accommodate the wills and apparent wishes of those around her. Hemlock Island was a dream come true for her when she and Kip first went there, and it's the one thing that she's clung to just for her own sake; it and her niece Madison are the two things she will fight for with every fiber of her being, even against the evils she finds waiting for her. The other characters generally slot into familiar roles: the sassy, brassy best friend Jayla who believes in Laney more than Laney believes in herself, the "friend" Sadie who is more of a manipulator than an actual confidant (and who may or may not have her own agenda for including herself in the trip), the brash and hopelessly biased (not to mention poor at his apparent job) "detective" Garrett whose history is all too predictable within five minutes of meeting him, the supportive ex Kip who still will do anything for Laney, and the teen girl Madison who refuses to be coddled or protected by grown-ups who still see her as a child. The external tension of being stalked by a sadistic killer - human or supernatural - leads to old wounds being reopened, driving wedges between them when their only hope of survival is banding together.
Even with the familiar parts, Armstrong creates a solid sense of isolation and eeriness on Hemlock Island, each revelation and discovery upping the creepiness (and the gore; this is not a bloodless jump-scare story). There are times when Laney's tendency to lock up under stress gets a bit frustrating, and other times where she skirts the border of being another woman whose sole strength and motivation boils down to mothering. The nature of the threat occasionally feels a bit more nebulous than threatening, and the gore could be over the top and even numbing, losing some effectiveness after the umpteenth graphic description of a mutilated corpse. It came very close to losing a half-star, but managed to hang on by delivering pretty much exactly what it promised.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Those Across the River (Christopher Buehlman) - My Review
The Shining (Stephen King) - My Review
The Hollow Places (T. Kingfisher) - My Review
Friday, October 4, 2024
The Last Chance Hotel (Nicki Thornton)
The Last Chance Hotel
The Seth Seppi series, Book 1
Nicki Thornton
Chicken House
Fiction, MG Fantasy/Mystery
*** (Okay)
DESCRIPTION: Young Seth has no memories of his mother and barely any of his father, once the chef of the remote Last Chance Hotel. People used to come from miles away to the lonely little place in the middle of the forbidding woods just to taste his food. When Dad disappeared, he left Seth behind. Now the boy toils as the dishwasher/cleaner/porter/general lowly servant of the nasty Bunn family who runs the Last Chance. The worst of them is their mean daughter Tiffany, who constantly reminds Seth that he'll never be the famous chef his father was, and he'll never escape the Last Chance Hotel. If it weren't for the grungy old black cat Nightshade, he'd have no friends at all in this desolate place.
When a group of important guests arrives, each more peculiar than the last, Seth sees hope in the illustrious Doctor Thallomius, who treats the boy well despite his lowly status. Maybe, just maybe, Seth has found an ally, someone who could help him escape the Bunns and a future of drudgery. When Thallomius dies at dinner - poisoned, it seems, by the dessert Seth made especially for him - he instead finds himself accused of murder. But the food was fine when it left the kitchen; he tasted it himself. Along with his cat Nightshade, he'll have to figure out who the real killer is if he hopes to clear his name. But things become complicated when he realizes that the guests at the Last Chance aren't just peculiar. They're each magicians, with real magic, and each of them has their own reasons to have wanted Thallomius dead.
REVIEW: The Last Chance Hotel starts with plenty of promise and a decent enough premise, as well as a young protagonist who, right out of the gate, has an interesting gift in his culinary sense and sensitive nose. The nasty Bunns are a too-familiar cliche, particularly the girl Tiffany whose sole motiviation is "big meanie bullying Seth" (the sort of shallow characterizations even picture books have been known to rise above, let alone a full-length story pitched at the lower end of middle grade), but I figured things would flesh out as the story progressed and the worldbuilding unfolded. Unfortunately, the story remained flat and thin throughout.
Seth starts out a downtrodden boy who nevertheless dreams of living up to his father's legacy and restoring the Last Chance Hotel's kitchen to its former reputation... yet his every action is preceded by pages worth of hesitation and cowardice and general indecisive, repetitive dithering. It's unclear how the Bunns came to be his guardians, and it's equally unclear why Tiffany is such an insufferable monster to him... matters which (risking spoilers, here) are hardly clarified at all throughout the entire book. It doesn't help that Seth is an utter blockhead of a protagonist. Not long after the accusation of murder, his cat Nightshade starts talking to him, yet it still takes him several long and tedious chapters to finally clue in to the existence of magic and the magical community. To repeat: His. Cat. Is. Talking. To. Him. Is this not a massive clue, not only to the existence of magic but secrets in the hotel? Apparently not. Seth is the sort of character who needs things explained multiple times before they begin to percolate through his cranium, and even then he tends to backslide and fail to connect dots as he repeats information to himself. (Even then, he has to be reminded of things he actually experienced at more than one point.) It doesn't help that the worldbuilding here is all over the map. The Last Chance Hotel is the sort of place with little to no sign of modern technology, seeming to exist in a nebulous sort-of past where nobody really expects a remote location to have so much as a phone, let alone television or computers or a cell phone signal, the sort of world where a fading magical community can exist even as it fades into obscurity... yet at one point Seth brightly compares a magical artifact to "virtual reality". Huh? Where would Seth have even heard about virtual reality, and how can a world with virtual reality - and associated technology, which would almost have to include some sort of recording devices - forget that magic is a thing? I struggled to really care about such a nebulously sketched world and such a deliberately clueless boy... or, frankly, any of the people surrounding him. (Yes, unfortunately, that includes the cat Nightshade.) Things happen to Seth more often than he actively acts to clear his own name, characters behave suspiciously or ridiculously (often both), Tiffany behaves cruelly because she's a half-note character (not even a one-note character) who makes Veruca Salt from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory seem complex and nuanced, and somehow things work out while leaving threads dangling for future books.
There are some promising ideas and nicely described moments now and again. Seth had potential to be interesting, as did the setting. I did want to enjoy the story. I just couldn't really connect with anyone, or the world the story tried to build.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Serafina and the Black Cloak (Robert Beatty) - My Review
A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking (T. Kingfisher) - My Review
Midnight for Charlie Bone (Jenny Nimmo) - My Review
The Seth Seppi series, Book 1
Nicki Thornton
Chicken House
Fiction, MG Fantasy/Mystery
*** (Okay)
DESCRIPTION: Young Seth has no memories of his mother and barely any of his father, once the chef of the remote Last Chance Hotel. People used to come from miles away to the lonely little place in the middle of the forbidding woods just to taste his food. When Dad disappeared, he left Seth behind. Now the boy toils as the dishwasher/cleaner/porter/general lowly servant of the nasty Bunn family who runs the Last Chance. The worst of them is their mean daughter Tiffany, who constantly reminds Seth that he'll never be the famous chef his father was, and he'll never escape the Last Chance Hotel. If it weren't for the grungy old black cat Nightshade, he'd have no friends at all in this desolate place.
When a group of important guests arrives, each more peculiar than the last, Seth sees hope in the illustrious Doctor Thallomius, who treats the boy well despite his lowly status. Maybe, just maybe, Seth has found an ally, someone who could help him escape the Bunns and a future of drudgery. When Thallomius dies at dinner - poisoned, it seems, by the dessert Seth made especially for him - he instead finds himself accused of murder. But the food was fine when it left the kitchen; he tasted it himself. Along with his cat Nightshade, he'll have to figure out who the real killer is if he hopes to clear his name. But things become complicated when he realizes that the guests at the Last Chance aren't just peculiar. They're each magicians, with real magic, and each of them has their own reasons to have wanted Thallomius dead.
REVIEW: The Last Chance Hotel starts with plenty of promise and a decent enough premise, as well as a young protagonist who, right out of the gate, has an interesting gift in his culinary sense and sensitive nose. The nasty Bunns are a too-familiar cliche, particularly the girl Tiffany whose sole motiviation is "big meanie bullying Seth" (the sort of shallow characterizations even picture books have been known to rise above, let alone a full-length story pitched at the lower end of middle grade), but I figured things would flesh out as the story progressed and the worldbuilding unfolded. Unfortunately, the story remained flat and thin throughout.
Seth starts out a downtrodden boy who nevertheless dreams of living up to his father's legacy and restoring the Last Chance Hotel's kitchen to its former reputation... yet his every action is preceded by pages worth of hesitation and cowardice and general indecisive, repetitive dithering. It's unclear how the Bunns came to be his guardians, and it's equally unclear why Tiffany is such an insufferable monster to him... matters which (risking spoilers, here) are hardly clarified at all throughout the entire book. It doesn't help that Seth is an utter blockhead of a protagonist. Not long after the accusation of murder, his cat Nightshade starts talking to him, yet it still takes him several long and tedious chapters to finally clue in to the existence of magic and the magical community. To repeat: His. Cat. Is. Talking. To. Him. Is this not a massive clue, not only to the existence of magic but secrets in the hotel? Apparently not. Seth is the sort of character who needs things explained multiple times before they begin to percolate through his cranium, and even then he tends to backslide and fail to connect dots as he repeats information to himself. (Even then, he has to be reminded of things he actually experienced at more than one point.) It doesn't help that the worldbuilding here is all over the map. The Last Chance Hotel is the sort of place with little to no sign of modern technology, seeming to exist in a nebulous sort-of past where nobody really expects a remote location to have so much as a phone, let alone television or computers or a cell phone signal, the sort of world where a fading magical community can exist even as it fades into obscurity... yet at one point Seth brightly compares a magical artifact to "virtual reality". Huh? Where would Seth have even heard about virtual reality, and how can a world with virtual reality - and associated technology, which would almost have to include some sort of recording devices - forget that magic is a thing? I struggled to really care about such a nebulously sketched world and such a deliberately clueless boy... or, frankly, any of the people surrounding him. (Yes, unfortunately, that includes the cat Nightshade.) Things happen to Seth more often than he actively acts to clear his own name, characters behave suspiciously or ridiculously (often both), Tiffany behaves cruelly because she's a half-note character (not even a one-note character) who makes Veruca Salt from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory seem complex and nuanced, and somehow things work out while leaving threads dangling for future books.
There are some promising ideas and nicely described moments now and again. Seth had potential to be interesting, as did the setting. I did want to enjoy the story. I just couldn't really connect with anyone, or the world the story tried to build.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Serafina and the Black Cloak (Robert Beatty) - My Review
A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking (T. Kingfisher) - My Review
Midnight for Charlie Bone (Jenny Nimmo) - My Review
One of Us Is Lying (Karen M. McManus)
One of Us Is Lying
The One of Us Is Lying series, Book 1
Karen M. McManus
Delacorte Press
Fiction, YA Mystery/Thriller
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: Bronwyn's been college bound since elementary school, with top grades and top ambitions. Cooper is living his father's dream on the baseball diamond, with interest from colleges and the major leagues even before high school graduation. Addy, homecoming queen, is the envy of half the school as she dates the star quarterback. Nate has a criminal record for drug dealing, but it's the only way to keep the bills paid with his father drowning in a bottle all day and night. Simon runs a gossip app, About That, spreading hurtful rumors that always turn out to be true. All five wind up in Mr. Avery's room for detention on Monday for bringing their cell phones to class... and all of them know for a fact that the phones they were busted with weren't even theirs. Mr. Avery doesn't care; he's just there to make sure they serve their sentence and learn their lesson.
Then Simon drops dead in the middle of the room... and the police suspect foul play.
The four survivors had little in common before the incident. Now, they're all considered suspects. And, thanks to Simon's gossip app and a particularly damning post that was due to be posted on Tuesday, all four of them have sufficient motive. As the police dig deeper and the media catches wind of the story, each of the four suspects wonder which of the others is guilty, or if they're all being framed.
Everyone has secrets in Bayview. Who had secrets worth killing for?
REVIEW: Built on a tried and true formula of mismatched students forced to see each others as people rather than stereotypes (in the vein of The Breakfast Club) with a murder mystery and potentially unreliable narrators, One of Us Is Lying presents a solid mystery with thriller overtones.
From the start, it's clear that each of the four narrators - the viewpoint shifts in each chapter, rotating through the students - has secrets even beyond what Simon spread in his app. None of them like the rumor-monger, yet nobody can deny that, however he gets his information, it always proves out in the end. His app goes far beyond locker room gossip, revealing secrets that crush people and end futures before they begin, and even though he only identifies people by their initials, it's easy for anyone at Bayview High to figure out who is who. Bronwyn, Cooper, Addy, and Nate all have their own reasons for loathing Simon; even if they haven't been targeted directly (yet), they all know people who have been destroyed by his app, such as the girl who attempted suicide after a particularly brutal campaign of harassment. Still, none expected to be seriously considered as suspects in his death. When the police get that bit in their teeth, there's no shaking them, especially when goaded by national press coverage... not even when the investigation turns out to be at least as damaging and harmful as Simon's app, unearthing all manner of skeletons from everyone's closets. Worse, someone seems to have taken up Simon's torch to make sure the entire student body, and the world, knows about every one of those old bones as they're brought to light. Could it be the killer, or one of Simon's unknown informants avenging his death?
During the course of the investigation, each of the targeted teens finds their lives turned upside down. Friends they thought they could rely on disappear. Futures they took for granted disintegrate before their eyes. None of them know whom they can trust, and not even their own families can be relied on to support them; Nate in particular lacks any sort of home safety net, but even Bronwyn's affluent parents seem more interested in preserving their idealized image of their child (and their own reputations) than listening. They each are forced to re-examine assumptions on which they've built their worlds and the people they've surrounded themselves with. Naturally, they end up drawing closer to each other... but is one of them actually a killer, or covering for a killer? They all ultimately have something to contribute to the mystery's resolution, each of them stepping up in ways they'd never anticipated they'd be capable of before the accusations and the upending of everything they believed about themselves and their peers. It all makes for an interesting, fast-paced ride with characters whose actions and emotions always rang true.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Like Never and Always (Ann Aguirre) - My Review
Killing Mr. Griffin (Lois Duncan) - My Review
Don't Even Think About It (Sarah Mlynowski) - My Review
The One of Us Is Lying series, Book 1
Karen M. McManus
Delacorte Press
Fiction, YA Mystery/Thriller
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: Bronwyn's been college bound since elementary school, with top grades and top ambitions. Cooper is living his father's dream on the baseball diamond, with interest from colleges and the major leagues even before high school graduation. Addy, homecoming queen, is the envy of half the school as she dates the star quarterback. Nate has a criminal record for drug dealing, but it's the only way to keep the bills paid with his father drowning in a bottle all day and night. Simon runs a gossip app, About That, spreading hurtful rumors that always turn out to be true. All five wind up in Mr. Avery's room for detention on Monday for bringing their cell phones to class... and all of them know for a fact that the phones they were busted with weren't even theirs. Mr. Avery doesn't care; he's just there to make sure they serve their sentence and learn their lesson.
Then Simon drops dead in the middle of the room... and the police suspect foul play.
The four survivors had little in common before the incident. Now, they're all considered suspects. And, thanks to Simon's gossip app and a particularly damning post that was due to be posted on Tuesday, all four of them have sufficient motive. As the police dig deeper and the media catches wind of the story, each of the four suspects wonder which of the others is guilty, or if they're all being framed.
Everyone has secrets in Bayview. Who had secrets worth killing for?
REVIEW: Built on a tried and true formula of mismatched students forced to see each others as people rather than stereotypes (in the vein of The Breakfast Club) with a murder mystery and potentially unreliable narrators, One of Us Is Lying presents a solid mystery with thriller overtones.
From the start, it's clear that each of the four narrators - the viewpoint shifts in each chapter, rotating through the students - has secrets even beyond what Simon spread in his app. None of them like the rumor-monger, yet nobody can deny that, however he gets his information, it always proves out in the end. His app goes far beyond locker room gossip, revealing secrets that crush people and end futures before they begin, and even though he only identifies people by their initials, it's easy for anyone at Bayview High to figure out who is who. Bronwyn, Cooper, Addy, and Nate all have their own reasons for loathing Simon; even if they haven't been targeted directly (yet), they all know people who have been destroyed by his app, such as the girl who attempted suicide after a particularly brutal campaign of harassment. Still, none expected to be seriously considered as suspects in his death. When the police get that bit in their teeth, there's no shaking them, especially when goaded by national press coverage... not even when the investigation turns out to be at least as damaging and harmful as Simon's app, unearthing all manner of skeletons from everyone's closets. Worse, someone seems to have taken up Simon's torch to make sure the entire student body, and the world, knows about every one of those old bones as they're brought to light. Could it be the killer, or one of Simon's unknown informants avenging his death?
During the course of the investigation, each of the targeted teens finds their lives turned upside down. Friends they thought they could rely on disappear. Futures they took for granted disintegrate before their eyes. None of them know whom they can trust, and not even their own families can be relied on to support them; Nate in particular lacks any sort of home safety net, but even Bronwyn's affluent parents seem more interested in preserving their idealized image of their child (and their own reputations) than listening. They each are forced to re-examine assumptions on which they've built their worlds and the people they've surrounded themselves with. Naturally, they end up drawing closer to each other... but is one of them actually a killer, or covering for a killer? They all ultimately have something to contribute to the mystery's resolution, each of them stepping up in ways they'd never anticipated they'd be capable of before the accusations and the upending of everything they believed about themselves and their peers. It all makes for an interesting, fast-paced ride with characters whose actions and emotions always rang true.
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