Yet another book

I just finished Invisible by Pete Hautman and have been arguing about it with my co-worker who read it and wanted me to read it, too.  It's a gripping tale of Doug, a 17-year-old "disturbed" boy who is a creepy loner--obsessed with his model train, harrassed by other kids at school, under a psychiatrist's care--who spends most of his time building a bridge out of matches, peeping through a classmate's window in hopes of seeing her undress, and hanging out with his best friend and next door neighbor, Andy.  It's clear from the start that something very bad has happened to Doug and Andy, but other than clues that it involves fire and a knife, we don't know what the boys' secret could be.  

At 149 pages, it's a quick read, and Doug is chilling and scary, yet sympathetic.  I guessed the secret on page 73, but that didn't spoil anything for me.  I think the book would appeal to older teen boys, and this is what S. and I were arguing about.  As I read, I felt as if I was watching a movie and I think guys who like realistic, suspenseful movies would like it.  She felt it would appeal more to girls who might be attracted to the "emotional" end of the story.  I'm going to encourage/force some eighth grade readers to give it a try and see what they think.  Hautman is a great author, and I loved his book Sweetblood a few years ago.  He's a cool guy and visited an online book group to discuss it with us.  Invisible is another of his that I'll recommend to the older kids at my school.