Nebraska transplant and high-school senior Makani Young is still haunted by her past in Hawaii. A series of student murders, however, soon brings her secret to the foreground as the mysterious killer ultimately targets her, too. Perkins's characters are engaging and the suspense is riveting, but gratuitous slasher-gore overwhelms the story. (c) Copyright 2018. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

The ever-popular Perkins (Isla and the Happily Ever After, 2014) takes a sharp turn out of YA romance in her latest offering, a clever and, to fans, no doubt surprising foray into the teen slasher genre. When Makani Young moved from her native Hawaii to her grandmother's house in Nebraska, she thought her biggest concerns would be fitting in, putting her troubled past behind her, and navigating her attraction to a mysterious boy. She didn't expect the students at Osborne High to start dying as murder after seemingly unconnected murder shocks the small town. And Makani certainly never expected herself to be targeted by the killer. Perkins deftly builds the suspense like a pro: an uneasy opening leads to some legitimately horrifying murders, and the identity of the killer isn't quite as important as the motivation. Diverse characters, including a transgender boy, are folded into the tale. This is the same reliable formula that spawned the Scream franchise, and Perkins wields it to great effect: readers will be sleeping with one eye open. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: This is a new direction for Perkins, but even fans wary of horror should be sucked in to this addictive read.--Reagan, Maggie Copyright 2017 Booklist

Raised in Hawaii, Makani Young has moved to small-town Nebraska to live with her grandmother. As her senior year begins, students at her new high school are being murdered by what looks to be a serial killer. After the first death, Perkins (Anna and the French Kiss) spaces out the killings (at first), developing Makani's story and establishing her romance with classmate Ollie, a pink-haired loner who, like Makani, has some secrets. In so doing, Perkins lulls readers into a false sense of security before twisting the knife, figuratively and literally. The murders are both grisly and psychologically unnerving, and the novel's intense realism makes them all the more disturbing; Perkins carefully weaves in everyday details that include the casual racism Makani encounters, a football player's worry about sensing symptoms of degenerative brain disease, and past events in Hawaii that Makani keeps to herself-part of the "wall of unspoken, unspeakable history" between her and Ollie. Even after the killer is identified, the body count keeps rising, leaving readers with questions of motive and where it will all end. Ages 14-up. Agent: Kate Schafer Testerman, KT Literary. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Someone is murdering high school students. Most freeze in fear, but a brave few try to stop the killings.Senior Makani Young has been living in corn-obsessed Nebraska for just a little over a year. She has developed a crush and made some friends, but a dark secret keeps her from truly opening up to those around her. As the only half-African-American and half-Native Hawaiian student in her school, she already stands out, but as the killing spree continues, the press descends, and rumors fly, Makani is increasingly nervous that her past will be exposed. However, the charming and incredibly shy Ollie, a white boy with hot-pink hair, a lip ring, and wanderlust, provides an excellent distraction from the horror and fear. Graphic violence and bloody mayhem saturate this high-speed slasher story. And while Makani's secret and the killer's hidden identity might keep the pages turning, this is less a psychological thriller and more a study in gore. The intimacy and precision of the killer's machinations hint at some grand psychological reveal, but lacking even basic jump-scares, this tale is high in yuck and low in fright. The tendency of the characters toward preachy inner monologues feels false. Bloody? Yes. Scary? No. (Horror. 14-16) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Gr 9 Up-Makani Young has lots of secrets, and has left her home in Hawaii to live with her grandmother in a small town in Nebraska and start a new life. Makani finds good friends and falls for loner Ollie. But when her high school classmates start being brutally murdered one by one, she realizes that she may be a target and that Nebraska is not the safe haven she had hoped it would be. In this teen slasher departure from her usual YA romances (e.g., Anna and the French Kiss), Perkins mixes in enough contemporary teen drama, offbeat characters, and everyday life details to break up the tension caused by the serial murders. Bahni Turpin narrates and does a nice job putting a unique spin on each character. Listeners are drawn in as the suspense builds and the teens' fears intensify in this fast-paced audiobook. Squeamish listeners may cringe as the body count and gore factor rises towards the end. VERDICT Give this to your fans of teen horror or the Scream franchise.- Julie Paladino, formerly of East Chapel Hill High School, Chapel Hill, NC © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.