Last Things

March 15, 2019
A secret war comes to a small Minnesota town as teenagers fight both literal and figurative demons.Lit up by the inspired writing and axe work of frontman Anders Thorson, the metal band Last Things has begun to draw more than local notice even though its members aren't yet out of high school. But along with uneasy memories of a conversation with a strange visitor who left him with a guitar and a promise that all his dreams of rock stardom would be coming true, Anders is increasingly weighed down with a feeling that his wild talents came out of nowhere and could just as easily disappear. There's something to that insight, it turns out--as in alternating chapters Thea, a peculiarly inconspicuous recent arrival, sees the seemingly ordinary town hemmed in by dark forces and Anders in imminent danger of surrendering to them out of ignorance. West (The Collectors, 2018, etc.) goes for a slow build while framing her two narrators as one music-smitten teen approaching a realistic stay-or-go crossroads in his life and another who could well be just an oddball....Anders eventually finds not only his music, but the very lives of everyone he cares about threatened. Fortunately, come the wild, scary climax, Thea turns out to be much more than she appears. The cast is evidently all white.A little patience pays ample dividends in a suspenseful tale wrought from power chords, creeping darkness, and disquieting twists. (Fantasy. 13-16)

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May 1, 2019

Gr 8 Up-High school senior Anders Thorson is a heavy metal star in his small town, but keeping his music "pure" becomes difficult when a famous reviewer calls him a prodigy and predicts a deal with a major label. Anders knows his skills suddenly improved after an expensive Ibanez guitar was given to him by a stranger, and he senses that something isn't quite right with the way new songs come to him as finished pieces. New to their small Minnesota town and niece of a woman branded a witch by locals, Thea is fixated on Anders, never missing his performances at a local coffeehouse. Chapters alternate between the narratives of Anders and Thea, her superhuman skills and obsession with Anders contrasting with his ecstasy and torture around music. Soon after Anders turns down a lucrative recording contract, a car veers into the river and his girlfriend goes missing. The action escalates like the fast-paced chords of a heavy metal bassline when everything Anders loves is threatened. West's background as a poet is evident in Anders's lyrics that reflect the plot: "Apologies/don't mean a thing/when the injuries don't end/Weigh my heart, tear it apart/Don't forgive me/Don't forget." What survives in a contest between fame and freedom might be the last choice for the protagonist. VERDICT Hand this worthy addition to any YA collection to fans of mystery, music, and horror.-Janet S. Thompson, Chicago Public Library

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2019
Grades 8-11 Giving your whole self to something?it's huge. I know. But sometimes that's what the music demands. . . . Sometimes it demands a sacrifice. Teen front-man Anders and his metal band, Last Things, have gone from pretty good to incredible in record time. They routinely pack their Minnesota town's coffeehouse with adoring fans and industry scouts. Anders wants to believe hard work and talent are the reasons, but deep down, he knows it's thanks to a strange conversation he had in the woods two years ago. Since then, songs possess him, pouring out fully formed, and he's become impossibly skilled with the guitar. He's also gained a stalker, Thea. Thea is new to town and has a secret, too: she can see the dark things waiting in the woods. West uses evocative language, including song lyrics, to enhance the ominous atmosphere in this updated Faustian thriller; her pitch-perfect depiction of music conjures pulse-pounding concerts and Anders' passion for metal. A dark and lovely saga, ideal for fans of Brenna Yovanoff and Holly Black.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)