Thin Air

September 4, 2023
A dozen high schoolers are traveling to Paris aboard a private plane when, a few hours into the flight, teens begin turning up dead. The passengers are all students handpicked from elite schools across the country, each participating in an academic competition for a four-year, all-expenses-paid scholarship to an Ivy League college and a postgraduate mentorship. This would be life-changing for Emily Walters, who attends a boarding school in Connecticut on a needs-based scholarship; since her father stopped paying child support, Emily lives in the family Subaru with her unemployed mother when she’s not at school. On the plane, Taylor, a student from Boston, is targeted via her nut allergy; she’s saved with an EpiPen, but Paige from North Carolina isn’t so lucky. It seems that someone is taking out the scholarship competitors one by one. And while Emily is desperate to obtain the prize, she must decide whether winning this deadly game is worth sacrificing everyone on board. Emily’s empathetic first-person narration, rendered in assured prose, is a steadfast vehicle that drives readers from one suspenseful, if familiar, scare to the next. There are no snakes on this plane, but the dangers are real in this ticking-clock thriller by Parker. The cast is racially diverse. Ages 12–up.

September 1, 2023
A group of teens on a private jet are slowly picked off by a mysterious killer who seems to know all their secrets. Emily has just completed her junior year at an exclusive boarding school where she's on a need-based scholarship. Among other things, she's been hiding the fact that her mother blew their savings on an MLM scheme and is living in her car following the loss of their house. Fortunately, Emily managed to get a scholarship from a charitable foundation that will allow her to escape to Paris for two weeks over the summer. The unusual program takes 12 finalists from hundreds of boarding school applicants and pits them against one another as they compete in challenges related to "character, intelligence, leadership skills, teamwork, and talent." The kicker? It all begins as soon as they're in the air. Emily's first-person narration of this elaborate setup establishes her as a sympathetic and flawed protagonist. The initial chapter is a quick, interest-piquing vignette set seven hours into the chaotic flight, and it quickly sets the taut line of tension that's maintained throughout, with each chapter opening with a time stamp marking the plane's progress across the Atlantic. The fast pace will keep readers engaged, particularly fans of locked-room mysteries, although the romantic subplot feels a bit formulaic. Emily is cued white; secondary characters show some racial diversity. A fun page-turner. (Thriller. 13-18)

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October 1, 2023
Grades 9-12 Horror, the ugly side of competitiveness, and palpable fear permeate Parker's claustrophobic thriller. The book's locked-room mystery style puts readers in the middle of the dangerous drama that unfolds on a flight to Paris. Seventeen-year-old Emily Waters is eager to be on the flight, since it's taking her and 11 other teens to a competition for a massive cash prize that will more than cover four-years' tuition at any college they choose. Readers will feel and root for Emily, as they learn about her personal struggles and how her mother doesn't have the money to provide for her. Winning would completely change Emily's future. The story becomes increasingly unsettling as the 12 teens turn sneaky and violent on the flight, desperately trying to eliminate their fellow competitors for the prize. The read is truly original, making the most of its inescapable airplane setting. Filled with twists and dread, this novel will thrill those curious about the dark side of human nature and what it means to be a survivor.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.