Flight 171

Gr 9 Up–In this paranormal horror thriller, a teen trying to move on after her twin sister’s unexpected death must face an otherworldly horror while on a flight for her senior ski trip. Devon and her classmates settle in for what’s expected to be a short flight when an elderly and seemingly human passenger named Dorothy uses her knitting needles to murder a crew member, and then forces the high school class to choose who to sacrifice among themselves to be her new host. As time runs out, the classmates’ secrets are revealed—including who was responsible for Devon’s sister’s death by hit-and-run. Parker doesn’t shy away from the grotesque, and some scenes with the immortal Dorothy are genuinely horrific. The reveal of the teens’ darkest secrets suggests that Devon might have just as much to fear from her class as from Dorothy. Most characters read as white, and an LGBTQIA+ reveal late in the book is clumsily handled.