Some books
Oct. 14th, 2006 11:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
checkers65477I recently read two books for teens and enjoyed them very much. One I will add to my library collection and the other I wish I could, but won't.
Starting New Moon, and page 29 has already about killed me.
Acceleration by Graham McNamee is a mystery/thriller that reminded me of some adult crime thrillers without the graphic violence. Seventeen-year-old Duncan has made a few mistakes in his life. He let his friend, Wayne, talk him into breaking and entering a home under construction and was caught stealing, of all things, a toilet. But his greatest regret happened during the previous summer. Duncan, a strong swimmer, tried to save a girl while swimming at the lake. The current grabbed her and he watched her die in the water despite his frantic efforts to save her. As the book begins, Duncan is working a summer job at the lost and found in the bowels of the subway system. As he organizes the hundreds of items that lie unclaimed, he finds a book. Not really a book, it is a journal filled with writing and newspaper articles. As Duncan reads, he discovers the thoughts of a sick, twisted man who has "accelerated" from torturing animals to setting fires to stalking women--potential victims for his next crime. Duncan feels he has to save this nameless victim, but is certain the police won't believe him, and may actually suspect him after his previous brush with the law.
The book is suspenseful and the characters are wonderfully real, their actions fully explained and believable. It was scary and creepy at times, funny and sad at other times. I'd highly recommend it to kids 12 and up.
And next...The book is suspenseful and the characters are wonderfully real, their actions fully explained and believable. It was scary and creepy at times, funny and sad at other times. I'd highly recommend it to kids 12 and up.
Friction by E.R Frank is very different from other realistic fiction books for middle readers. I knew the premise for the book--that a teen, who has lied in the past, accuses a teacher of sexual abuse--and I was sceptical that a book for this age group could handle the issues fairly. Boy, was I wrong. Alex and her friends attend eighth grade in a private school that seems to be lost in a time warp. They call the teachers by their first names, go camping with few adults as chaperones, and have gotten comfortable with adults who seem like members of the family. All that changes when Stacy enters the school. She has a tongue stud, kisses the boys to teach them how, and is what my mother would call a "sexpot". Within a few weeks she has the whole class in an uproar, especially when she begins spreading rumors that the teacher is hitting on Alex. Rumors escalate until Stacy claims that the teacher has molested her.
The characters are completely believable. Alex is terribly naive for her age, but from the way she is described it makes perfect sense. Simon, the teacher, is comfortable in his job and earnest and intense. He brings many of his problems on himself, then is stunned and hurt when the students take his actions in the wrong way. The book has a realistic, poignant ending with the characters changing and becoming less innocent and trusting. It was a great book, but I don't think I'll put it in my collection. It was just too graphic for the age group at my library.
The characters are completely believable. Alex is terribly naive for her age, but from the way she is described it makes perfect sense. Simon, the teacher, is comfortable in his job and earnest and intense. He brings many of his problems on himself, then is stunned and hurt when the students take his actions in the wrong way. The book has a realistic, poignant ending with the characters changing and becoming less innocent and trusting. It was a great book, but I don't think I'll put it in my collection. It was just too graphic for the age group at my library.
Starting New Moon, and page 29 has already about killed me.
