Every now and then a book comes along wherein the reader is genuinely surprised by a shocking development halfway through. This is one such stunner, constructed like an episode of the television show 24, with chapters broken up into the events of 24 chaotic and confusing hours from Christmas Eve to Christmas Day. A complicated book that demands careful attention from the reader, it includes such current topics as time travel, computer simulations and military planning. While the beginning is a bit difficult, those who make it to the stunning revelation will be completely hooked. Seven children are installed in a high-security military installation with nearly 200 highly trained security personnel. Each child is a genius with his or her own talents and personality. There’s an air of mystery about exactly the intentions of the leader of the military post. When one girl is taken to a secret area under the base, all hell breaks loose. The children attempt escape from a situation they have been put in through truly horrendous circumstances by calculating adults. Philosophical issues to consider involve the manipulation of science leading to a truly thought-provoking conclusion: Will computers one day surpass their creators and gain the ability to influence humans? A bit bloody and certainly complex, the story leaves the reader with much to ponder. (Fiction. 12-14)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-15-206240-8
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2007
BOOK REVIEW
Gabriel McCloud, an alcoholic from a family of losers, is dead at 18, an ``inevitable'' end met when he slammed his truck into a tree. Coming in after this grisly moment, readers share other characters' reactions to Gabe's death—and learn why the violent end of a troublemaking McCloud was not so expected after all. Girlfriend Jennie literally goes to the edge of a cliff, where she awaits the tide to sweep away her pain and the baby within her. Teacher Carolyn Sanders mourns the loss of a bright student done in by an abusive background. Gabe's father, remorseful for mistakes of his own that led his son to self- destruct, teeters on the edge of losing his two-year, self- enforced sobriety. Through such perspectives, a complex portrait emerges: a young man with potential who could have conquered his past with the one break no one gave him. The events unfold in orderly fashion, each chapter featuring the distinctive first- person reflections of one of many characters, transporting readers into the heart of this multifaceted tragedy. Provocative suspense of a different color—not whodunit, or why, or how, but what now? (Fiction. 12-14)
Pub Date: Oct. 30, 1992
ISBN: 0-689-31772-7
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1992
Koller follows up A Place To Call Home (1995) with this raw, funny-if-it- weren’t-so-painful journal of a disabled teenager given to self-destructive behavior. Luke—big, good-natured, sensitive, popular, captain of the wrestling team—is nonetheless tortured by something he won’t put down in writing. His life has become a chain of disasters: He accidentally chops off his dog’s tail; he secretly borrows the family car to crash a party, and his best friend Hutch chucks all over it; at 17 he already has a long record of collisions and speeding tickets, even though he considers himself a careful driver. Koller gives alert readers enough clues that it isn’t a complete surprise when he finally works his way around to admitting that his left eye is artificial. That’s plainly not the reason for his self-loathing, though. Caught in a severe downward internal spiral, convinced of his worthlessness, he breaks up with his girlfriend, punctures his good eye, begins to see a pediatric psychologist in the hospital while his eye heals, and finds himself rooming with a former schoolmate who attempted suicide rather than tell his parents that he’s gay. Unsurprisingly, Luke’s perspective improves. While he often sounds whiny, Luke is an appealing character, and readers will keep turning the pages, waiting for Koller to drop in the next piece of the puzzle that lies at the heart of Luke’s anguish. A memorable case study in teenage guilt. (Fiction. 12-14)
Pub Date: May 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-689-81294-9
Page Count: 181
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1998
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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