Kill call

A high school senior who experiences prophetic dreams of death must save a classmate from a grueling fate in Wooten's high-concept debut thriller. Football star Jude Erickson lives in Little Rock, Ark.; drives an old Cadillac; and is happily dating fellow senior Molly. Jude is also a Dreamer, just like his father. As a Dreamer, his father envisions murders through the eyes of the killer before they've occurred, and it's his job to go after the perpetrator and save the victim, known as the Chosen. Now it's Jude's turn, and the Chosen is his classmate Hanna Smith. His father has been training him for years, and Jude knows that he's ready--or, at least, he thinks he is. When he arrives on the scene, however, Hanna has already rescued herself and is now marked by Fate; soon, someone will come to finish the job--and this time, Jude won't get a warning. Wooten persuasively balances familiar adolescent concerns surrounding dating and friendships in Jude's everyday life with high-intensity supernatural elements, and the pulse-pounding suspense of Hanna's seemingly inevitable death paired with her and Jude's brewing chemistry drive this taut and edgy read. Main characters cue as white. Ages 13--up. (Feb.)

All Jude wanted was to have a fun, normal senior year, but the Dream changed everything. Seventeen-year-old Jude Erickson was an average teenage boy until he realized he was a Dreamer, like his father. In the Dream, Jude watches--from the killer's perspective--as fellow senior Hanna Smith dies at the hands of a hammer-wielding killer. Jude understands that he has a special responsibility: saving Hanna's life by preemptively taking out her murderer. But Jude's mission goes awry when the would-be murderer escapes before harming Hanna, who at first believes Jude wanted to kill her. Now, it's up to the two of them to find out who wants her dead and stop them before they make another attempt on her life. The suspects are numerous, and the clock is ticking. Jude narrates this harrowing tale of prophetic visions and bloody secrets set in Arkansas under stormy skies. While there are plenty of fights, the use of violence is always tempered by questions of ethics as Jude struggles with his supposed duty to preemptively kill killers. Well-developed subplots center on Jude's attempts to woo his love interest, Molly Goldman, and the high school football team's exploits on the field, where Jude plays defense. Most characters are cued white. A riveting thriller that explores morally gray areas. (Supernatural thriller. 14-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.