Black Flowers, White Lies

September 15, 2016
Fifteen-year-old Ariella Benton, nicknamed Ella, finds herself in Hoboken, New Jersey, at the mercy of her own ideas regarding her long-dead father, her mom's new husband, her love for cats, a new love interest, a belief in the supernatural, and the stigma of mental illness. All of these story elements become a psychological-thriller Mobius strip with the appearance and then encroaching insinuation of the "tall and blond" "Beautiful Boy" she meets at the mall--and who turns out to be her future stepbrother, Blake. If the incestuous undertones don't creep readers out, Crystal Kite winner Ventresca (Pandemic, 2014) ploddingly layers on Blake's manipulations, from his constant gaslighting of Ella--with the participation of Ella's best friend and the aforementioned love interest)--to bloody and muddy fingerprints on mirrors and walls and other, far nastier, deeds. Does sociopathic Blake get away with his dastardliness toward his white (by inference) family? The author tries to build the suspense and empathy, but it falls flat due to the grating characterization of Ella herself--as well as the unkind characterization of sociopathy. The lesson is that, at best, Blake, with his mental illness, cannot be incorporated into family life but needs to disappear, optimally of his own accord. The stereotypical depiction of sociopathy, that hoary trope, leaves a bad taste. (further reading) (Thriller. 14-18)

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October 1, 2016

Gr 9 Up-In times of trouble, Ella's deep, almost supernatural connection to her deceased father (he died in a car accident before she was born) has brought her great comfort. When her mother remarries and her mysterious new stepbrother divulges that her father died in a mental hospital instead of on the road after heroically saving a sick animal, like she was told, she starts to spin out. Spooky things begin happening to and around Ella, leaving her and readers to wonder whether her father's restless spirit is trying to tell her something, or if his mental illness was passed down to his daughter. There are scary moments, and even readers who figure out early on that Ella's stepbrother might not be the most reliable source of information will be curious about how all of the "haunts" came to be. The plot seems drawn out, though, and there isn't a great deal of chemistry between any of the characters. Ella's despair that her father died in a mental hospital is understandable, but it's laid on thick, and by the final reveal, her intense relief strays into mental illness-stigmatizing territory. Ella's stepfather's reaction to the truth is upsetting but adds a shot of realism to the ending. VERDICT An additional purchase for larger collections.-Beth McIntyre, Madison Public Library, WI

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