Gail Giles, if you're out there Googling your name again, thank you for another great book. (If you don't get the reference, see my previous posting What Mrs N's Been Reading - Playing in Traffic along with Gail Giles' comment.) I just finished her latest one, Right Behind You. As usual, Giles has again given us a teenage main character who is about as screwed up as a person can be and still be somewhat functional, yet is so likable that you can't put the book down. This time it's Kip McFarland, who at the age of nine, killed a seven-year-old friend by setting him on fire. He spends the next several months in a silent shock and the next several years in an institution for violent juveniles. He is released as a teenager, under a new name, and relocates with his father and his new wife, to try to start fresh. The story is told as Kip sees events. His struggle to adjust to a regular school, not be able to tell anyone anything about his past, and living with the guilt and nightmares takes its toll, and Kip makes a mistake that costs everyone. Giles is right - the parents in this one have plenty of baggage, but everyone should have someone in their life who will support them to the extent that Kip's dad and stepmother do. A thought-provoking and actually hopeful book, recommended for high-schoolers. I'm anxiously awaiting Giles' next one. She has yet to disappoint me.
2 comments:
My editor and my agent won't let anything through that would disappoint you. Not just one person writes a book. Although, in all honesty, I'm the only one that makes the mistakes.
Thanks for reading.
Gail
You are most wecome! It's always a pleasure!
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