Category Archives: Mystery/Suspense/Thriller

Review: It Looks Like Us by Alison Ames

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It Looks Like Us by Alison Ames

It Looks Like Us
Alison Ames
Page Street Kids
Published September 13, 2022

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About It Looks Like Us

The remote terror of THE THING meets the body horror of WILDER GIRLS in this fast-paced Antarctic thriller.

Shy high school junior Riley Kowalski is spending her winter break on a research trip to Antarctica, sponsored by one of the world’s biggest tech companies. She joins five student volunteers, a company-approved chaperone, and an impartial scientist to prove that environmental plastic pollution has reached all the way to Antarctica, but what they find is something much worse… something that looks human.

Riley has anxiety–ostracized by the kids at school because of panic attacks–so when she starts to feel like something’s wrong with their expedition leader, Greta, she writes it off. But when Greta snaps and tries to kill Riley, she can’t chalk it up to an overactive imagination anymore. Worse, after watching Greta disintegrate, only to find another student with the same affliction, she realizes they haven’t been infected, they’ve been infiltrated–by something that can change its shape. And if the group isn’t careful, that something could quickly replace any of them.

My Review

Horror isn’t usually something I read very often– it tends to get into my head too much and then revisit me at night– but I tend to really enjoy books by PageStreet, so I decided to give IT LOOKS LIKE US a try.

And I was NOT disappointed!

From the very first, I needed to know what would happen to Riley. She’s smart and anxious and I found it so easy to identify with her. I loved the way she forged relationships with others on the team and even how confrontations with the monster who appeared as her team members affected her emotionally. Those scenes exploring how she felt hearing their voices and seeing their faces as part of something she knew was trying to kill her were some of the most gripping for me.

At less than 300 pages, IT LOOKS LIKE US is a pretty quick read. Scenes from after Riley escapes frame the story, and it begins with two people she refers to as Good Cop and Bad Cop interrogating her. As she answers their questions, she takes us back into the story of what happened. We watch things unfold knowing that grim things are to come. I felt like that format heightened the tension for me, and I loved it.

So… in the story, Riley and the team go to Antarctica on a research trip arranged by a mega wealthy billionaire who has rockets that go to space and a company that makes electric cars. Named Anton Rusk. Yep. Kind of made me laugh when the story introduced him.

On the whole, I devoured this book. I loved its energy. I also loved the way cleverness and desperation and some of the relationships between characters. Though horror will never be my preferred genre, I’m really glad I had a chance to read this one.

Content Notes

Content warnings for violence and body horror. Brief alcohol use and presence of drugs.

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Riley has anxiety and panic attacks and is ace.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Two people undress and climb into a sleeping back together to ward off hypothermia. One reassures the other that he isn’t trying to have sex with her, he’s trying to help her survive.

Spiritual Content
Riley and her team encounter an otherworldly monster that can shapeshift and speak to them.

Violent Content
Some descriptions of violent death. The monster shapeshifts in very unsettling ways, sometimes melting from one shape to another. Sometimes its bones seem to crack and shift. Mouths open up in strange places.

Drug Content
In one scene, after a confrontation with the monster, Riley and her friends drink gin they’ve found. In another scene, Riley discovers weed among one of her team member’s things. The two people who interrogate Riley pump her full of some types of medications that prevent her from experiencing the pain and trauma of her injuries while they question her.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of IT LOOKS LIKE US in exchange for my honest review.

Review: We Made It All Up by Margot Harrison

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , , ,

We Made It All Up
Margot Harrison
Little, Brown Books
Published July 12, 2022

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About We Made It All Up

Celeste is the talk of the town when she moves to Montana from Montreal, but the only friend she makes is Vivvy, the heir to the town’s name and a social pariah. Inspired by a passion-fueled school incident, they begin writing a love-story fan fic between the popular guy and the school stoner, one that gradually reveals Celeste’s past. While their bond makes Celeste feel safe and alive again, Vivvy keeps prodding Celeste to turn fantasy into reality. When they finally try, one drunken night on a dark mountainside, Celeste is the one who ends up kissing golden boy Joss. And Joss ends up dead.

Celeste doesn’t remember the end of that night and can’t be sure she didn’t deliver the killing blow. Could she still be that scared of getting close to a boy? Secrets are hard to keep in a small town, and even Vivvy seems to suspect her. Exploring the winding passages of the cave where Joss died, Celeste learns he had his own dark secrets, as does Vivvy. The town isn’t as innocent as it appears.

My Review

The opening pages of WE MADE IT ALL UP hooked me in immediately. Right away, I loved Vivvy and all of her glorious strangeness. It took me longer to figure out Celeste, I think because she felt very much like a person caught in their fight or flight instinct. Once I understood what was going on and why she acted that way, I found it much easier to connect with her.

In the book, Celeste and Vivvy write a love story about two boys in their town who appear to hate each other. I don’t know how I felt about that story. Like, was I supposed to judge the writing? Because it felt like something two high school kids could have written, which seems appropriate, since that is what it is? But also, it felt like… fetishizing? I’m not the right person to make that judgment call, I think. But it did give me some pause.

Beyond that, I think the focus on some of the heavier sexual content could be challenging for some readers. The story definitely gets dark in some parts.

I liked that the story has so many layers, though. It also has this winding feeling to it, where things tend to loop back around and add new information that changes what you think is happening. I love that. It reminded me a bit of WE WERE LIARS in that way.

On the whole, I liked the part of the story in which Celeste dealt with what had happened to her before she moved to her dad’s. I also thought the characters were really well developed and consistent.

Content Notes

Content warning for mentions of rape, sexual assault and sexual abuse, violence, smoking, drinking alcohol and mentions of drug use.

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Major characters are white. One minor character is gay.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. Kissing between two boys.

See violent content for sexual violence.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
One of Celeste’s teachers stalked and eventually raped her. No graphic description of the rape, but her trauma is evident.

Drug Content
Teens drink alcohol. Mentions of smoking marijuana. One character sells marijuana, too.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of WE MADE IT ALL UP in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Set Me Free by Ann Clare LeZotte

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Set Me Free
Ann Clare LeZotte
Scholastic Press
Published September 21, 2021

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About Set Me Free

Three years after being kidnapped and rendered a “live specimen” in a cruel experiment to determine the cause of her deafness, fourteen year old Mary Lambert is summoned from her home in Martha’s Vineyard to the mainland to teach a younger deaf girl to communicate with sign language. She can’t help but wonder, Can a child of eight with no prior language be taught?

Still, weary of domestic life and struggling to write as she used to, Mary pours all her passion into the pursuit of freeing this child from the prison of her isolation. But when she arrives at the manor, Mary discovers that there is much more to the girl’s story — and the circumstances of her confinement — than she ever could have imagined. Freeing her suddenly takes on a much greater meaning — and risk.

My Review

Wow. I just finished reading this book, and I feel like so much of it is still running through my head. First off, I have to note that the historical setting was totally immersive. The writing style, the descriptions, the word choice, all of that felt like it belonged in the time period in which the story is set, in the very early 1800s. I felt like I could perfectly picture the island community where Mary lives.

The story has a strong sense of mystery and adventure to it. Mary, still fresh from her own trauma, journeys to a far away estate to care for a young girl. She doesn’t know much about the girl’s condition or her past, and still less about the house and staff who live there. She meets staff members with secrets and prejudices. As she begins to understand what the real situation is, Mary only becomes more desperate to help the young girl achieve her freedom and independence.

The story world captivated me, and so did Mary and the girl she at first calls Ladybird. The relationship between those two girls felt real and powerful. They are student and teacher, but so much more than that, too. I feel like this story really honors the reflective experience that happens when someone sets out to teach or give something and in return receives and learns so much more than they expected.

Another favorite thing about this book for me is the section at the back that offers historical details and context for elements from the story as well as things which inspired the book. I loved getting to know those extra bits of history and seeing how they fit into the way the story was constructed or influenced the book.

Conclusion

Readers who enjoy historical fiction will love this book. It reminded me of books like THE TRUE CONFESSIONS OF CHARLOTTE DOYLE by Avi. I haven’t read SHOW ME A SIGN, also by Clare LeZotte, which tells the story of Mary’s kidnapping and escape from a scientist who uses her as a “live specimen” in his experiments, but it’s now really high on my reading list!

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 to 14.

Representation
Mary is Deaf and lives on Martha’s Vineyard, a community in which one in four people are Deaf. Several other characters are Deaf or Hard of Hearing. Minor characters are Native American.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Mary is a Christian and prays and quotes the Bible in several places.

Violent Content
A girl wears a chain on her ankle, tying her to the floor. Mary notices bruises and scars and guesses at the brutal treatment of a young girl. Someone attacks Mary, trying to choke her.

Several characters make racist comments against Black or Native American characters and/or show prejudice against Deaf characters. Mary is quick to condemn those behaviors and to chastise herself when she doesn’t speak up.

Drug Content
A young girl is sedated against her will or without her knowledge. Mary speaks against this forcefully.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of SET ME FREE in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Bad Things Happen Here by Rebecca Barrow

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Bad Things Happen Here
Rebecca Barrow
Margaret K. McElderry Books
Published June 28, 2022

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About Bad Things Happen Here

I KILLED ZOE SPANOS meets THE CHEERLEADERS in this haunting mystery about an island town with a history of unsolved deaths—and a girl desperate to uncover the mystery behind it all.

Luca Laine Thomas lives on a cursed island. To the outside world, Parris is an exclusive, idyllic escape accessible only to the one percent. There’s nothing idyllic about its history, though, scattered with the unsolved deaths of young women—deaths Parris society happily ignores to maintain its polished veneer. But Luca can’t ignore them. Not when the curse that took them killed her best friend, Polly, three years ago. Not when she feels the curse lingering nearby, ready to take her next.

When Luca comes home to police cars outside her house, she knows the curse has visited once again. Except this time, it came for Whitney, her sister. Luca decides to take the investigation of Whitney’s death into her own hands. But as a shocking betrayal rocks Luca’s world, the identity Whitney’s killer isn’t the only truth Luca seeks. And by the time she finds what she’s looking for, Luca will come face to face with the curse she’s been running from her whole life.

My Review

I own a couple other books by Rebecca Barrow, but BAD THINGS HAPPEN HERE is the first one I’ve ever read. Right away, I felt hooked into the story. The relationship between Luca and Whitney is so real. I loved the small town, closed circle feel of the group of friends they shared.

As Luca learns that everyone has been keeping secrets, my interest in the story only deepened. I kept coming up with my own theories of what happened and then hanging on as the story pivoted new directions. I couldn’t stop reading. Things happened so fast that I kept wanting to read one more chapter all the way until the very end.

I have thoughts about the end, but I don’t want to give anything away. I think I can safely say that the way it ended felt both true to the character and also not what I expected. It both closed the story and yet left me yearning for more in a good way.

I think it’s hard to tell a story from the perspective of a narrator like Luca, someone who’s grappling with so much grief and betrayal and trauma and not only keep them an engaging narrator but walk the balance between them doing things that feel totally in character but also give the reader the experience we need from a story– to feel like there’s some growth and conclusion. Rebecca Barrow does both and does it all beautifully. I loved this book and can’t wait to read other books she’s written.

I think readers who enjoyed WHITE RABBIT by Caleb Roehrig or LITTLE & LION by Brandy Colbert will want to read this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Representation
Luca is Black and Latinx. She’s also a lesbian and deals with some mental health issues.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two girls. One scene briefly shows masturbation.

Spiritual Content
Luca believes there’s a curse on her island that’s causing girls to die.

Violent Content
References to sexual assault and murder. One murder happens on scene. Luca briefly describes seeing the bodies of two people after they were found murdered.

Drug Content
Luca drinks alcohol with her friends. References to smoking pot. Some characters have a history of using hard drugs.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of BAD THINGS HAPPEN HERE in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Before Takeoff by Adi Alsaid

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Before Takeoff
Adi Alsaid
Knopf Books for Young Readers
Published June 7, 2022

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About Before Takeoff

The Sun Is Also a Star meets Jumanji when two teens meet and fall in love during a layover-gone-wrong at the Atlanta airport in this thrilling new novel from the author of Let’s Get Lost!

James and Michelle find themselves in the Atlanta airport on a layover. They couldn’t be more different, but seemingly interminable delays draw them both to a mysterious flashing green light–and each other.

Where James is passive, Michelle is anything but. And she quickly discovers that the flashing green light is actually… a button. Which she presses. Which may or may not unwittingly break the rules of the universe–at least as those rules apply to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta.

Before they can figure up from down, strange, impossible things start happening: snowstorms form inside the B terminal; jungles sprout up in the C terminal; and earthquakes split the ground apart in between. And no matter how hard they try, it seems no one can find a way in or out of the airport. James and Michelle team up to find their families and either escape the airport, or put an end to its chaos–before it’s too late.

My Review

The first book by Adi Alsaid that I read is WE DIDN’T ASK FOR THIS. I loved that book, so I knew as soon as I saw this one that I really wanted to read it. Between that and the comparison to Jumanji, I built pretty high expectations for this story.

And… those expectations were met one hundred percent! I loved the weirdness of the airport and all the bizarre things that kept happening. I loved James and Michelle and the way their relationship developed.

The story is told in an omniscient point-of-view, where the narrator zooms in and out of different characters and situations. Normally I’m not a huge fan of that style, but I feel like Alsaid uses it SO WELL in his writing. That feeling of zooming in and out and following different characters all feels perfectly timed and adds so much depth to the storytelling. I love it.

If you’re looking for a book that takes a sideways look at humanity, or dives into the weird ways people react in a crisis, or simply a sweet, unexpected romance that blooms in the center of chaos, this book is absolutely not to be missed. I love so many things about it. This is definitely one that I’m going to pester my friends to read so I have someone to talk about it with!

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
James is Latino. Michelle is Asian.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. In one scene they remove their shirts.

Spiritual Content
Strange events take place at the airport. Snow and rain fall. Fissures open. It’s unclear what governs those events.

Violent Content – content warning for racism.
Some people trapped in the airport become violent. A man confronts another man, using slurs and threatening him.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of BEFORE TAKEOFF in exchange for my honest review.

Review: The Boy Who Met a Whale by Nizrana Farook

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The Boy Who Met a Whale
Nizrana Farook
Peachtree Publishing
Published on February 1, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Boy Who Met a Whale

From the author of THE GIRL WHO STOLE AN ELEPHANT comes another brilliant escapade. A thrilling adventure set in fictional Sri Lanka, jam-packed with peril and kidnap and a huge blue whale!

Razi, a local fisherboy, is watching turtle eggs hatch when he sees a boat bobbing into view. With a chill, he notices a small, still hand hanging over the side… Inside is Zheng, who’s escaped a shipwreck and is full of tales of sea monsters and missing treasure. But the villains who are after Zheng are soon after Razi and his sister, Shifa, too. And so begins an exhilarating adventure in the shadow of the biggest sea monster of them all…

My Review

I really enjoyed reading THE BOY WHO MET A WHALE. Razi and his sister are still grieving over their dad’s death when Zheng washes up on their beach. Zheng tells all kinds of wild stories, and at first Razi and Shifa aren’t sure what to believe about them. When two of Zheng’s former shipmates make it clear they intend to kill Zheng, though, Razi and Shifa decide they have to help him escape.

The three go on an adventure over the sea, following clues on a map Zheng’s captain left him. They’re determined to find an important treasure and return it to its rightful owner. Zheng’s two former shipmates, Marco and Cook, pursue them, making it clear they’ll stop at nothing to get the treasure.

I loved so many things about this book. The way they worked together to decode the treasure map. All their plans to outsmart the men chasing them. The way the three of them bonded and became close friends. I kind of wish there had been more scenes with Maalu the whale, though. She definitely played an important role, I think I just wanted more scenes with her or maybe something where the kids helped her, too?

On the whole, I loved this book, though, and I would love to read THE GIRL WHO STOLE AN ELEPHANT, which is also by the same author.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Razi and Shifa are Sri Lankan.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Two men chase and threaten to kill the kids. A boy hits a man in the face with a fish.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.