January 16, 2023
Young (the Girls with Sharp Sticks series) spins an ethereal, if predictable, story of romance, strained family relationships, and healing in this darkly paranormal tale. After trashing their father’s house while throwing an end-of-the-year rager, Italian and Mexican American–cued teenage siblings Theo and Marco Maggione are sent to spend the summer with their grandmother, Nonna, in Nightfall, Ore. Nightfall, a usually quiet town, is teeming with tourists as residents prepare for the annual Midnight Dive, a festival featuring a late-night mermaid parade during which “everyone walks straight into the ocean.” The siblings chafe when Nonna imposes a curfew, especially after effortlessly cool Minnow, a Black local teen, invites them to join her friend group, offering Theo and Marco a welcome respite from dealing with their own mercurial emotions surrounding their parents’ recent divorce. Theo soon realizes, however, that something sinister lurks in Nightfall’s inky dark depths. Young unevenly touches on themes of violence and female empowerment through varying supernatural tropes. Theo’s tongue-in-cheek first-person narration is strongest while navigating mundane troubles such as peer pressure and social isolation, and her evolving relationships with Marco, her parents, and myriad Nightfall residents add emotional heft to this intense thriller. Ages 12–up. Agent: Lane Heymont, Tobias Literary.
January 15, 2023
Siblings sent to small-town Oregon for the summer learn there's something sinister afoot. Theodora and her brother, Marco, would have preferred to stay in Phoenix for summer vacation, but because they got busted throwing a destructive party for which they nearly got arrested, they are forced to go with their recently divorced dad to his hometown of Nightfall to visit the grandmother they've never met. Nonna is superstitious and a bit eccentric, insisting that Theo and Marco follow her rule of not staying out past dark. But what's the point of being in a new place if not to hang out with the attractive and alluring locals who party on the beach at night? Theo also befriends Elijah and Felix, a tourist couple with a popular horror podcast. She doesn't want to believe the tales they are spinning, but she soon realizes that something is indeed quite off about this place. Readers will catch on to what kind of monsters lurk in Nightfall long before Theo does in this compulsively readable story. The unsettling and eerie tone throughout makes for a captivating ride, while teenage angst and lust make the characters interesting and relatable. When Theo does finally learn the truth, the story shifts into gruesome, exciting, action-packed horror. Theo and Marco are Mexican American on their mom's side and implied Italian American on their dad's; there's racial diversity among the local residents and tourists. A delicious tale filled with desire and bite. (Horror. 13-18)
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February 1, 2023
Grades 7-11 Theo's not thrilled to be spending the summer with her depressed dad in Nightfall, Oregon, while her mom sorts out living arrangements with her new boyfriend, but at least Theo's with her brother, Marco, and will finally get to meet their dad's mom. Things seem even less bleak when they meet the group of teens who call Nightfall home: beautiful Minnow is beyond cool, Parrish is handsome and kind, and the upcoming Midnight Dive celebration has the town buzzing. Soon, though, Marco begins acting strangely, and Theo is certain that her father knows more than he's letting on about why Nonna's superstitions about being out after dark (among other things) are getting so much more disturbing--and Theo's determined to figure out what's going on. This supernatural standalone is creepy and adventurous, at times gory and downright violent while simultaneously tackling Theo's sincere feelings of abandonment and being betrayed, though the quick pace and Theo's cynical nature prop up the mood. Highly recommended for all teen collections.
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