Seasick

April 15, 2024
Ten promising young Oklahomans board a yacht to celebrate their induction into a prestigious society--but not all will reach their destination alive. Naya doesn't fit in with the wealthy clique of inductees into the Yates Society, but she plans to do her best to enjoy the celebratory cruise to Bermuda anyway. Her fellow passengers include �tienne, her French boyfriend; Taylor, her best friend; Finn, Taylor's boyfriend; Harvard-bound Amelia; young student teacher Mr. "Call Me Derek" Cunningham; swim team heartthrobs Brett and Gabe; Everly, who writes an online gossip column; and Yana, Naya's former bestie. Newspaper intern Yana has her own secret motive for being there: An anonymous text tipped her off to a major scandal that she could break open. But when someone turns up dead, Yana's desire shifts to finding the murderer aboard. The bodies pile up as the yacht encounters stormy waters. Naya and Yana have avoided each other for years, but they'll have to team up if they want to survive. This locked-room murder mystery is weighed down by weak prose and wooden dialogue. Attempts at humor undermine the sinister subject matter and lend the story an uneven tone. Naya and Yana are well developed as individuals, but the other characters are defined solely by their unlikable traits. Naya is biracial (Black and white), and Yana is Thai American; both reflect on their experiences as the only non-white inductees. An intriguing but ultimately lackluster whodunit. (Mystery. 13-18)

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May 1, 2024
Grades 8-11 Popular genres collide in a novel that combines the creepier elements of a thriller with a dash of mystery and elite academia. Teens Naya Morgan and Yana Bunpraserit--once best friends but no longer close--both struggle to be accepted among the community of elite rich kids in their Oklahoma town. The former friends are thrown together again when they are selected for a secret society for graduates of their high school, one that promises many opportunities. The story takes off fast before diving into the eerie as the girls join the group on a yacht to celebrate their new lives. But when there's a murder on board, they find themselves trapped. The murder mystery will keep readers engaged, and the character interactions will leave them suspicious, making this a tension-filled read. The growing understanding that these elite teens may have dark intentions helps create a story that illuminates how craving acceptance and being a people pleaser can backfire in the darkest of ways.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

June 1, 2024

Gr 9 Up-This is a fast-paced, typical whodunit thriller told in alternating perspectives of Naya and Yana, former friends and recipients of the prestigious Yatesville Society Scholarship. Naya feels like an outsider because of her brown skin and lack of family money. Yana struggles with similar feelings, being Taiwanese and also lacking the "old money" status. While Naya tries to stay true to herself, Yana clings to her high-society friends in the hopes of achieving her goals; she also received an anonymous text asking her to look into a "cheating ring" among the Yates scholarship winners. As recipients of the scholarship, both girls, along with several other scholarship winners, are invited to a five-day cruise on a mega-yacht to Bermuda. All the main characters share histories-some good, some bad-and their friendships will be put to the test. What starts as an exciting celebration of graduating high school at the top of their class soon becomes a horror-movie nightmare. One by one, the Yatesville Society inductees are murdered, and they must put their differences aside to try to survive. Characters are BIPOC and relatable, and their backgrounds and personalities come out slowly through the book, always adding to the question, "could they be the murderer?" Readers will be satisfied with an ending that wraps everything up neatly, if a little quickly-no cliff-hangers here. VERDICT Hand to students looking for a quick summer read and to those who enjoy a little murder with their teen drama. An additional purchase where light summer reading is popular.-Ashley Grillo

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