Henry Franks

Gr 7 Up—It's been nine months, but Henry still can't remember the accident that killed his mother and left him covered in scars-or anything before that. With a sweltering summer starting, the teen has a lot of time on his hands, but he just can't piece together who he is or, more mysteriously, why he has no feeling in an increasing portion of his body or why his father spends so much time at his job at the morgue. As a hurricane approaches and a serial killer roams the island off the Georgia mainland, Henry and his neighbor Justine begin to unravel a tangle of lies and connected horrors. Salomon begins with an interesting premise, modernizing the Frankenstein story, but doesn't deliver. The first two thirds of the novel fail to build any tension despite the twin threats of an oncoming hurricane and an unidentified serial killer, which leaves the ending feeling rushed. The final reveal depends on a completely new character never mentioned before and allows things to be wrapped up too tidily, and the epilogue is completely preposterous, even in a story where the readers' belief has already been suspended. The dialogue never feels natural, and descriptions are often repetitive. This story is full of disparate elements stitched together in a final product that is unbelievable and unsustainable.—Gretchen Kolderup, New Canaan Library, CT