11/01/2019
Gr 9 Up— In Mitchell's latest teen thriller, secrets don't stay buried for long, and the things we do in the dark aren't hidden forever. For years, Ava has struggled with the aftereffects of being sexually assaulted, including a scar on her face that reminds her of it daily. When Ava unexpectedly stumbles upon a secret no one was meant to find in the woods, she has to decide what to do. A part of her knows the right thing is to tell an adult or the police, but the burdens of her own past beg her to keep the secret. An outstanding thriller concept and mystery plot will grab readers who love writing that is dark and emotional, and Ava's internal struggles are authentic and heartfelt. This haunting and mysterious story will keep readers guessing until the final chapters. VERDICT Teens who enjoyed Courtney Summers's Sadie or Kathleen Glasgow's Girl in Pieces will be invested. A standout choice for high school libraries where these titles circulate well.—Elizabeth Pelayo, St. Charles East High School, IL
2019-07-26
In her latest novel, Mitchell (The Prom , 2019, etc.) again explores the sexual awakening of adolescent identities—this time against the backdrop of childhood sexual assault. Though hesitant to open up to anyone apart from her best friend, Syd, 17-year-old Ava Parkhurst reveals early on that she was raped at age 9 and visibly scarred for life when her attacker traced "a razor blade finger " down her cheek. As if Ava, a good student who strives to live in the present and not fixate on past trauma, doesn't have enough challenges—Syd is keeping secrets from her; her father has moved out, leaving her and her mother on their own; and, for the first time, she's finding herself physically attracted to the daughter of the policeman who, years before, handled her assault case—a walk in the woods one snowy Maine night leads to a harrowing discovery that dangerously tests the confines of Ava's carefully guarded world. Mitchell's roller-coaster confessional narrative runs the gamut from teen melodrama between friends and the throes of first love to reckoning with guarded secrets and the psychological fallout from astoundingly brutal acts. Most characters default to white; her love interest is biracial (white Jewish and Korean).
A searing, fast-paced whodunit that addresses sexual assault head-on. (author's note, resources) (Thriller. 14-18 )
The combination of a murder mystery and the breathless onset of a new romance forces Ava to confront the trauma of her own violation, while offering readers both narrative suspense and deeper than usual insight into the day-to-day struggles of survivors... offers hope and strength straight from Ava’s arc as she becomes more than the thing that happened to her.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)
“Compelling and thought-provoking, this book is SADIE meets THE LOVELY BONES. Would recommend for people looking for a deep, psychological, and challenging but ultimately pensive and raw read.” — YA Books Central
"Like the worms in the soil of Ava’s visions, All the Things We Do in the Dark will crawl into readers’ viscera and stay under their skin." — BookPage
Praise for DEFY THE DARK: “Sixteen darkly alluring stories relate horrid and extraordinary events that can occur only in the absence of light. Each uniquely eerie, goose bump-raising tale confidently journeys into the unknown, and almost every one has a thread of teen romance.” — Kirkus Reviews
Praise for ALL OUT: “Sumptuous language, plentiful historical detail, and satisfying endings....Readers searching for positive, nuanced, and authentic queer representation—or just a darn good selection of stories—need look no further than this superb collection.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“This anthology of distinct stories and experiences is exceptional in scope and quality, and gives voice to the experiences that have long existed but often go unrepresented.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“LGBTQIA story collections are scarce, but even if they weren’t, this one would be essential.” — Booklist
"Like the worms in the soil of Ava’s visions, All the Things We Do in the Dark will crawl into readers’ viscera and stay under their skin."
Compelling and thought-provoking, this book is SADIE meets THE LOVELY BONES. Would recommend for people looking for a deep, psychological, and challenging but ultimately pensive and raw read.
The combination of a murder mystery and the breathless onset of a new romance forces Ava to confront the trauma of her own violation, while offering readers both narrative suspense and deeper than usual insight into the day-to-day struggles of survivors... offers hope and strength straight from Ava’s arc as she becomes more than the thing that happened to her.
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)
LGBTQIA story collections are scarce, but even if they weren’t, this one would be essential.
