October 1, 2020
Gr 9 Up-Tucked in a remote Oregon forest is Camp Naramauke, a seemingly abandoned sleepaway camp but really home to a select group of violent teenagers. It is here that Signal Deere, accused of killing her childhood friend Rose, is brought after her release from juvenile detention, not to be rehabilitated but to be trained to kill without being caught. But Signal, who sports blue hair, hides a secret. She did not kill Rose, and her innocence sets her apart from the campers, who are proudly Class A, the most dangerous criminal distinction. At camp, Signal meets dark-blond Erik, who senses her innocence and wants to prove that she was framed, and Javier, a tall, artistic teen to whom she is drawn. When the campers are sent out on a mission to kill, Signal faces her greatest challenges yet while attempting to escape from the Teen Killers Club. In her debut YA thriller, Sparks creates a contemporary dystopian world and deftly weaves in details about her characters' pasts. Readers may not pick up on the subtle clues about Rose's murder, and the solution is too neatly revealed. Characters' ethnicity and appearance, other than hair color, aren't indicated. VERDICT Many will enjoy the suspense within these pages.-Gillian D'Ambrosio, Rutgers Univ., NJ
Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
November 1, 2020
Grades 10-12 After being accused of killing her best friend, Signal Deere is offered an opportunity to exchange years in prison for a mysterious training program alongside other teens who have been designated "Class A." Upon arrival, Signal realizes that this "Teen Killers Club" is made up of exactly that: teens who have committed murder and were recruited to work as assassins in exchange for their freedom--if they survive the program, that is. As Signal gets to know her fellow campers, she forms friendships and mixed feelings and delves into what happened the night her best friend was murdered, as her memories slowly return. Readers will be on the edges of their seats as they read this fast-paced thriller full of characters with hazy backgrounds and unclear intentions. The Suicide Squad-like premise evolves into a complex mystery, with the characters revealing more of themselves as the novel progresses. A note of caution: included here are depictions of extreme violence. A fast-paced, suspenseful novel, perfect for true-crime fans.
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Starred review from October 1, 2020
An accused murderer is thrust into an assassin training program. Seventeen-year-old Signal Deere is serving hard time after a hazy night with her former best friend, Rose, which ended with Rose's body in her lap, an emotional trial, and the media moniker the "Girl from Hell." After her caseworker, Dave, assures Signal there's no way she'll get a successful appeal, he offers her an alternative: being shipped off to a mysterious camp and enrolled in a top-secret government training program unofficially known as the Teen Killers Club. There, Signal and other adolescent Class A felons (the most dangerous kind) undergo various drills--among them, dismembering fake corpses and dissolving flesh in acid--in preparation for eventually being used as assassins against government targets. The teens have been injected with a device remotely controlled by their trainers that will kill them if they attempt to escape the camp or otherwise disobey orders. As Signal nurses an attraction to sensitive tattooed Javier and fights her feelings for handsome sociopath Erik, she begins to piece together what really happened that night with Rose. Sparks crafts a page-turner with a disturbingly unusual premise, snappy dialogue, and characters that go deeper than their heinous crimes. Signal and Erik are assumed White; love interest Javier is cued as Latinx, and there is some diversity in the supporting cast. A mystery/thriller that's equal parts heartfelt and shocking. (Thriller. 15-adult)
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