Karl T. Wright takes the mic, supported by Imani Parks and P.J. Ochlan, in this tale of a haven turned hellscape. For teen protagonist Jay and the other resident workers—mostly people of color—the Karloff Country theme park and resort has been an oasis from the destabilizing effects of climate change. Wright expertly evokes Jay’s growing horror, shared by listeners, as he realizes they are now effectively enslaved, subject to the often brutal whims of the Karloffs and their billionaire friends. Ochlan dials the unction up to 11 in the interspersed snippets of Karloff PR that provide ironic counterpoint. Parks, voicing Jay’s female friends, is less effective, enunciating individual phrases as discrete declamations with little emotional nuance. In the end, Wright carries this masterful work of Black horror. V.S. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
The Getaway
Narrated by Karl T. Wright, Imani Parks, P. J. Ochlan
Lamar GilesUnabridged — 10 hours, 15 minutes
The Getaway
Narrated by Karl T. Wright, Imani Parks, P. J. Ochlan
Lamar GilesUnabridged — 10 hours, 15 minutes
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Overview
"Timely, thrilling, and gripping from start to finish. An absolute page-turner." --Karen M. McManus, #1 New York Times bestselling author of One of Us Is Lying
Jay is living his best life at Karloff Country, one of the world's most famous resorts. He's got his family, his crew, and an incredible after-school job at the property's main theme park. Life isn't so great for the rest of the world, but when people come here to vacation, it's to get away from all that.
As things outside get worse, trouble starts seeping into Karloff. First, Jay's friend Connie and her family disappear in the middle of the night and no one will talk about it. Then the richest and most powerful families start arriving, only... they aren't leaving. Unknown to the employees, the resort has been selling shares in an end-of-the-world oasis. The best of the best at the end of days. And in order to deliver the top-notch customer service the wealthy clientele paid for, the employees will be at their total beck and call.
Whether they like it or not.
Yet Karloff Country didn't count on Jay and his crew--and just how far they'll go to find out the truth and save themselves. But what's more dangerous: the monster you know in your home or the unknown nightmare outside the walls?
Editorial Reviews
07/11/2022
High school junior Jermaine “Jay” Butler lives year-round at walled, world-famous Karloff Country Resort. He spends his days attending classes at the prestigious Karloff Academy, working shifts at mega-popular theme park Enchantria, and hanging with his crew, which includes Connie, an elite restaurant chef’s Black daughter; Zeke, Black son of a resort engineer; and biracial (Black and white) Seychelle, sole heir to the vast Karloff fortune. Jay is grateful for his spot within Karloff Country’s wealthy community as the U.S. suffers national meat shortages, raging West Coast fires, East Coast flooding, and natural disasters battering Middle America. But when Connie and her family disappear overnight, it’s just the beginning of a series of ominous incidents. As Jay and his crew uncover haunting truths about their seemingly utopian getaway, they must contend with the knowledge of how precarious their lives really are, and work together to survive the deadly whims of the board of trustees who run the resort. Told through the teens’ alternating perspectives, Giles’s (Spin) harrowing dystopian novel combines an exploration of capitalistic greed and systemic racism and oppression with gripping psychological horror, resulting in a read that is guaranteed to terrify. Ages 12–up. Agent: Jamie Weiss Hilton, Andrea Brown Literary. (Sept.)
Praise for Lamar Giles
"My twin, Lamar, is a phenomenal innovative storyteller. His thrillers have laid the groundwork for us all. A true king!" — Tiffany D. Jackson, New York Times bestselling author of Grown and The Weight of Blood
"Lamar Giles's work always has something to say, and it's well worth your while to listen." — Barry Lyga, New York Times bestselling author of I Hunt Killers
"When I think of Lamar Giles's work, I think of the books that make kids love reading. Whether it's through a fantasy adventure or a nuanced YA novel, he offers readers smart characters who face impossible circumstances that will keep them guessing until the end. A Lamar Giles book never disappoints." — Meg Medina, New York Times bestselling author of Burn Baby Burn
Praise for Ruin Road
"Lamar Giles's latest thriller is filled with chilling haunts and horrors, not just in the magical curse that burdens the main character, but in the authentic real-life struggles and stigmas that plague him. A brilliant concept, deftly executed!" — Neal Shusterman, New York Times bestselling author of the Arc of a Scythe series
"Ruin Road brims with malice, each page sure to drag readers into a community's — and boy's — fight against the greedy forces preying on them. Exceptional and not to be missed!" — Trang Thanh Tran, New York Times bestselling author of She Is a Haunting
"Riveting, grounded horror tinged with characters who leap to life. Lamar Giles writes with imagination and urgency that will appeal to all horror fans, as Ruin Road raises an intriguing question with surprising answers: What would we be like if we had no fear?" — Tananarive Due, American Book Award winner and author of The Reformatory
"A refreshing tale with twists you'll never see coming. Giles crafts an action-packed story, filled with both real-life and supernatural terrors. Ruin Road pulls your heartstrings tight and keeps you on your toes!" — Erin E. Adams, author of Jackal
"From the first line, Ruin Road lets you know you're in the hands of a master. The story moves with the knowing swagger of its main character, Cade Webster, fascinating, charismatic, and layered. With elements of Stephen King mixed with a double helping of that Giles magic that makes his work so unforgettable, Ruin Road is a mix of terror, heart, and intelligence, with a dash of social commentary. Giles is in peak form, and you don't want to miss out!" — Maurice Broaddus, author of Unfadeable
★ "Giles’s robust descriptions of the setting and nuanced characterization provide this intricately plotted story with incredible depth. Occasional perspective shifts deftly flesh out the landscape of suspenseful supernatural elements, and abhorrent acts of racism bring a sobering sense of reality to this magic-filled story. A riveting thriller that seamlessly incorporates powerful social themes." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Praise for The Getaway
YALSA Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults
YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers
"Timely, thrilling, and gripping from start to finish. An absolute page-turner." — Karen M. McManus, #1 New York Times bestselling author of One of Us Is Lying
"The Getaway grabbed me from page one and didn't let go. I was immediately fascinated and disturbed by the fictional Karloff Country. You too will be lured in and then horrified by the truth behind those perfect customer service smiles..." — Malinda Lo, New York Times best selling author of Last Night at the Telegraph Club
★ "With hints of Cory Doctorow, Jordan Peele, and Richard Matheson, this book stands on its own as a dystopian adventure, but the deeper metaphors around servitude, privilege, class, and solidarity mean that there's a lot to think about as the characters reckon with their proximity to and complicity in violence both local and far-flung. Hold tight: You'll want to stay on this nightmarish roller coaster till the end." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
★ "This arresting and engaging dystopian thriller interrogates the horrors of racism, classism, unregulated capitalism and eco-fascism." — Shelf Awareness (starred review)
"Giles's harrowing dystopian novel combines an exploration of capitalistic greed and systemic racism and oppression with gripping psychological horror, resulting in a read that is guaranteed to terrify." —Publishers Weekly
"With elements of adventure, science fiction, horror, and even a bit of romance in a broken world, Giles keeps readers wondering who can and cannot be trusted throughout this page-turning novel." — Horn Book
Praise for Spin:
A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice
YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers
"The first test of a whodunit is how heart-stopping and strange a thing has actually been dun. In Spin, Lamar Giles nails the murder... What's even more impressive is the subtle stuff you almost don't notice because Giles wears his intellect so lightly: the masterly knowledge of hip-hop and R&B; the command of technology's uses and abuses; the discerning ear for the way high schoolers talk... A two-time nominee for an Edgar award, Giles is a terrific plotter... Spin champions the resourcefulness of teenagers and pities the grown-ups — villainous or just clueless — who underestimate them." — New York Times Book Review
★ "Not to be missed." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
★ "Spin delivers everything you could want in a book: lush, complex characters; a spine-chilling plot; a vividly drawn world; and, best of all, hip-hop." — Booklist (starred review)
★ "This novel transcends its genre." — School Library Journal (starred review)
★ "This fast-paced tale seizes attention from the first thrown punch to the final curtain call...." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Lamar Giles has spun together a fast-paced, music-forward whodunit..." — School Library Connection
Praise for Overturned:
A YALSA Top Ten Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers
A Kirkus Best Book of the Year
★ "An utterly compelling whodunit." — Kirkus Reviews, starred review
"Giles, a founding member of We Need Diverse Books and two-time Edgar Award finalist, is in top form, weaving together the threads of his whodunit-and-why and resonantly depicting his characters' home and school lives. As a poker genius Nikki may be a singular sort of teenager, but she's grounded in desires and motivations that make her story as moving as it is thrilling." — New York Times Book Review
"Another Giles winner." — BCCB
"A fast-paced, endlessly intriguing mystery." — Booklist
"Giles excels at pulpy crime drama, including a romance with a wealthy casino heir, scattering a trail of clues and bluffs to keep readers guessing." — Publishers Weekly
★ 10/01/2022
Gr 9 Up—As the world outside is plagued with severe climate change, poverty, and racism, Black teen Jay feels lucky his family was chosen to live in Karloff Country. Inside the Karloff walls is a renowned destination resort with theme parks, upscale hotels, restaurants, and shops. Helpers keep the resort running, so Jay splits his time with going to school, working at a theme park, and hanging with his crew: fellow Black teens Zeke and Connie, and Chelle, who, much to her grandfather's dismay, is the biracial heir to the Karloff empire. But soon the troubles of the outside world start to seep into Karloff; Connie disappears overnight, and residents are suddenly placed under lockdown as coordinated attacks occur worldwide. Jay is still grateful to be living in a safe zone—until the typical resort crowds disappear and the Trustees arrive with new demands. Karloff Country marketing campaigns interspersed within the text lead to initial connections between Karloff and the promised magic of Disneyworld. But the advertisements extolling a commitment to safety and equality quickly begin to underscore the glaring difference in Karloff's marketing and intended purpose. The Trustees have complete power over the Helpers, each described as a person of color, and their brutality ranges from the zap of electricity to a modern-day lynching, rapidly shifting ideas of Disneyworld to those of slavery. Nonstop action, increasingly dangerous risks, and themes of racism and classism will keep readers engaged and flying through this one—and rethinking that planned resort vacation. VERDICT A must for readers who want an entirely unique take on the apocalypse.—Maggie Mason Smith
Karl T. Wright takes the mic, supported by Imani Parks and P.J. Ochlan, in this tale of a haven turned hellscape. For teen protagonist Jay and the other resident workers—mostly people of color—the Karloff Country theme park and resort has been an oasis from the destabilizing effects of climate change. Wright expertly evokes Jay’s growing horror, shared by listeners, as he realizes they are now effectively enslaved, subject to the often brutal whims of the Karloffs and their billionaire friends. Ochlan dials the unction up to 11 in the interspersed snippets of Karloff PR that provide ironic counterpoint. Parks, voicing Jay’s female friends, is less effective, enunciating individual phrases as discrete declamations with little emotional nuance. In the end, Wright carries this masterful work of Black horror. V.S. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
★ 2022-06-22
Trapped in an apocalyptic theme park, teens fight back.
Jay has it pretty good, all things considered, in a not-too-distant future absolutely ravaged by droughts, fires, floods, and powder-keg instability. He and his family are live-in employees of Karloff Country, a mountaintop in Virginia taken over by a billionaire family who created their own version of Disneyland as a refuge for their similarly wealthy peers to cavort away from the destruction they helped create. But when the end times loom, Jay realizes that the new guests, the Trustees, are privileged to the point of sociopathy, torturing staff over perceived slights with impunity. Jay rebels along with fellow Karloff Academy seniors Zeke and Connie and Seychelle, his crush and an heir to the Karloff fortune (Chelle’s racist grandfather, Franklin Karloff, hasn’t gotten over her White mom’s having had a biracial Black baby). They’re all fast friends; “the Black kids always find each other.” Narrated through multiple points of view, the novel features Jay’s perspective most prominently, with some interludes from his friends, all presented in Giles’ signature strong, accessible voice. With hints of Cory Doctorow, Jordan Peele, and Richard Matheson, this book stands on its own as a dystopian adventure, but the deeper metaphors around servitude, privilege, class, and solidarity mean that there’s a lot to think about as the characters reckon with their proximity to and complicity in violence both local and far-flung.
Hold tight: You’ll want to stay on this nightmarish roller coaster till the end. (Horror. 13-18)
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940175086561 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Scholastic, Inc. |
| Publication date: | 09/20/2022 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
| Age Range: | 12 - 17 Years |
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