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Portes, Andrea
4 Reviews
(4)
4-6
Uneasy about the unexpected aid of ancestral ghosts and unsure of which corporeal humans they can trust, cerebral Henry and intrepid Eva embark on a risky endeavor to uncover the truth about their parents' death. With over-the-top characterizations and Gothic sensibilities, this humorous mystery weaves a path of far-fetched twists and red herrings.
Reviewer: Miriam Lang Budin
(2)
YA
Outwardly tough-as-nails Paige is recruited by a secret government spy agency and sent to Russia to befriend and/or seduce an Edward Snowden–type character. Paige's voice, addressing an offstage "you," is wry, acerbic, and occasionally vulnerable. Suspend your disbelief and go along for the twisty ride in this smart, humor-laced, girl-spy adventure romance, first in a projected series.
Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
July, 2017
(2)
YA
Sixteen-year-old Willa is less than psyched to be starting boarding school, and she decides she's going to kill herself. Then she meets Remy, Pembroke Prep's enigmatic, charismatic It Girl, and their friendship gives Willa a purpose in life. Portes excels at the first-person, precociously self-aware, snarky teenage-girl voice. The book's humor is dark and the social commentary biting.
Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
July, 2016
(2)
YA
Anika Dragomir looks like the All-American girl-next-door, but "nobody knows that on the inside I am spider soup." "Nerd-ball turned goth romance hero" Logan McDonough and God's-gift-to-Nebraska, Jared Kline, vie for her affections. A dramatic climax is foreshadowed by sections in italics that hint at tragedy. Anika's observations are razor-sharp, especially when she's describing other people (and especially when she's ragging on her family).
Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
September, 2014
4 reviews
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