Review of One of Us Is Next by Karen M. McManus

McManus, Karen M.  One of Us is Next.  Delacorte, 2020.

After the tragic death of Simon Kelleher, the “Bayview Four” were cleared of all charges, and they graduated and moved on with their lives.  Even though Simon’s “About That” gossip app has disappeared, people in the suburb of Bayview, near San Diego, have not forgotten what happened a year prior.

Someone wants to keep playing the shaming game and has started group-texting students at Bayview HS.  Students are being coerced into taking part in an online game of “Truth or Dare”.  The first dare taken is harmless, but the second dare falls on Phoebe’s shoulders.   The truth revealed when she doesn’t take the dare is a piece of gossip that causes the whole school to shame her.  The next victim is Maeve, the sister of one of the original “Bayview Four”.  She ignores the dare, and her former boyfriend, Knox, who is now her friend, is ridiculed and harassed when her truth is revealed.  The next dare is taken, and it results in a student’s death.

Despite each facing personal problems, Maeve, Phoebe, and Knox work together to discover who is behind the new game while following anonymous threatening posts on a Reddit site.  At the same time, Knox, who works at “Until Proven”, a local law firm, tries to figure out who is sending anonymous death threats to their office.  Could the game and the death threats be connected?

This companion novel to One of Us Is Lying is written in chapters of three different viewpoints, that of Maeve, Phoebe and Knox.  However, some of the characters in the first book do show up in this sequel.  All three main characters are going through some family and personal issues.  Maeve is worried about her leukemia coming back; Knox feels he is not valued by his father; and Phoebe is dealing with her father’s sudden death.

The pacing of the novel is quick and full of action.  Although there are a lot of characters in the book, there are a lot of diverse personalities—a family who owns a Hispanic restaurant, a gay baseball player and his boyfriend, and Maeve’s Columbian ancestry.  The tech elements keep the plot fresh and new.  There are many underlying themes within the book—bullying, sexual harassment, slut-shaming, forgiveness, and criminal justice issues.  Although this is a mystery, there is no lack of romance, so those readers will not be disappointed.  There are plenty of twists, turns, and shocking moments to keep readers engaged and the pages turning.

One of Us Is Next will keep the reader guessing until the very end!  Hand this edition to those who read the first book, fans of the Gossip Girls series, and those looking for a suspense novel.  I highly recommend it for high school and public libraries, and I give it five out of five fleur de lis!

Shusterman, Neal.  Thunderhead.  S&S, 2018.

Thunderhead follows up Neal Shusterman’s popular futuristic novel, Scythe, which deals with a death-free earth and a unique way to control the human population.

In this second book in the Arc of a Scythe series, Rowan has become a phantom vigilante, Scythe Lucifer, tracking down corrupted scythes in MidMerica and killing them.  Citra, now Scythe Anastasia, is taking her job very seriously, gleaning victims with humane compassion.  She has become quite popular among the junior scythes and is living with her mentor, Scythe Curie.   They are concerned about the attitude that many of the newer scythes have developed—gleaning with glee and wild abandonment, instead of doing their jobs with seriousness and dignity.  Through a newly introduced character, Greyson Tolliver, it is revealed that the lives of Scythes Anastasia and Curie are in mortal danger due to their “old world” views. 

The powerful A.I. Thunderhead is observing everything that is happening on earth, with increasing disappointment, but does nothing to directly interfere with the Scythes.  However, it has its hand in every other aspect of human life across the globe.  In an effort to help earth, and ultimately, the Scythedom, Citra takes her life into her own hands, hoping that she can connect with the only thing that can save the world.

OMG.  This. Book.  I thought that Scythe was exceptional, but the Thunderhead is even better!  How can that even be possible!?

Neal Shusterman has made expanded the Thunderhead into a “living breathing character” by putting its dialogue into diary-like entries, allowing the reader to know how it feels and sees the world.  The characters from Scythe have been fuller developed, and the additional ones add even more depth to the sequel.  The world building of Endura, the Scythe government seat of power, and of The Great Library of Alexandria is outstanding.  Add in the fascinating plot and the surprising twists, and you have what I think is the Novel of the Year, even if it is a sequel.

So…five things.

1.     Brilliant, flowing writing

2.     Likable and vile characters—both remarkably refined

3.     Amazing world building

4.     Shocking plot twists

5.     A cliffhanger ending  (Insert, “Noooooo!” here!)

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I highly, highly recommend Thunderhead to upper middle school, high school, and public libraries and give it five fleur de lis.  I’d give it ten if I could!

Review of Fever by Lauren DeStefano

Fever by Lauren DeStefano; Simon & Schuster, 2012.

Rhine and Gabriel have escaped from the Housemaster Vaughn’s mansion, hoping for a life together, and Rhine is determined to go home to her twin brother, Rowan.  However, horrors they could never imagine await them in the outside world.  First, they fall into the hands of Madame Soleski, a crazed woman who runs a brothel inside the remains of a carnival.  They get out of that situation with an added burden—Maddie, an intelligent, but mute, malformed child, only to have one roadblock after another thrown into their paths.  As an added distraction, Vaughn keeps showing up unexpectedly, and Rhine cannot figure out how he is able to find her.

If you are a fan of “The Chemical Garden” series, you will not be disappointed with Fever. In fact, in many ways, I think it is even better than Wither !  Fever begins right where Wither ends.  There is more action in this new installment, and we learn more about Rhine’s brother, Rowan, and life beyond the mansion.

In Fever, we are introduced to new characters, many of whom are extremely complex.  I am especially fond of Lilac, one of Madame Soleski’s “girls”, and Maddie, her young daughter.  Lilac helps Rhine and Gabriel cope with living in a strange brothel; she is knowledgeable and strong way beyond her nineteen years.  Maddie, though deformed, is smart and has learned how to survive in a dangerous environment, despite her handicap.  She has literally beaten the odds.  I love Grace Lottner, who owns “Grace’s Orphanage”.  She is a caring and devoted woman.  The way she dotes on her charges is both commendable and extraordinary.

Madame Soleski, the twisted, delusional owner of the “Carnival of Love”, is the epitome of evil.  Not only is she controlling, but she is also conniving, and heartless, only caring what she can get out of the girls’ short lives.  She even has an incinerator built so she can easily dispose of her dead girls’ bodies.  Then there’s Housemaster Vaughn.  If you thought he was awful in Wither, just wait!  He is even more of a monster in this second book!  The evil he exudes in the first book cannot even compare to what we learn about him in Fever !

Lauren DeStefano’s lovely prose descriptions of the carnival, Manhattan, and the orphanage are stunning!  The world beyond the mansion is dark, disturbing, and desperate.  It is hard to believe that people can actually live their lives in this crumbling, dying world.  Many of the first generations are also pro-naturalists, scornful of children and teenagers, and hold disdain for President Guiltree and his ideas to begin experimenting for a cure for the virus which claim young adults.  Setting off bombs to make a point is reminiscent of some of today’s terrorists, and that is how Rhine and Rowan’s parents were killed.

Although the book is very dark, it does the ending does leave the reader with some hope.  Fever will make its debut on February 21, 2012.  I highly recommend it to high school and public libraries!

**The copy reviewed was received from the publisher at the ALA Midwinter meeting in Dallas, 2012.