Daria Bickell, a special-ed student with Down syndrome, is the only witness to the crime. ( Grade 8 & Up) Alex Crusan, an HIV-positive, Hispanic teen, is brutalized by an attacker wearing a high school letter jacket, and all fingers point to Clinton Cole, the narrow-minded jock/jerk known for making Alex and his family's lives miserable since they arrived in the rural, north Florida town. A worthy and thought-provoking novel, with an eye-catching cover. The three viewpoints effectively help the reader consider the plights and concerns of each character.
Flinn, a former attorney and author of the notable YA novels Breathing Underwater, Nothing to Lose, and Breaking Point, tells a convincing and wrenching tale of teens dealing with thorny issues. In the end, telling the truth is difficult but liberating for all three young people. And Clinton tells about his anger and what he really did: he is guilty, but not of this crime. In blank verse, Daria tells about what she saw, and how it gets her much-desired attention from the other girls. He forms a friendship with a candy striper at the hospital, and gradually decides to come clean about how he contracted HIV-it was from a brief relationship with a college girl, and not from a transfusion, as his family had told everyone. Alex tells of his struggle to deal with his HIV-positive status and to cope with his overprotective mother, and his fear of having no future. We get the story in alternating chapters from the three teenagers' points of view.
Clinton was seen in the area that morning, and he's been vocal about his feelings about someone who might spread "the black plague": his little sister and Alex's are best friends, and Clinton wants Alex out of their lives. But who was the assailant? Daria thinks it was fellow student Clinton Cole. Daria Bicknell, a special education (Down syndrome) student, was a witness to the attack. He is now in the hospital with multiple injuries. The facts are clear: Alex Crusan, an HIV-positive Cuban-American high school student who recently moved to small-town Pinedale, FL, was attacked in his car by someone with a baseball bat. Teens will enjoy ferreting out the reality from the conflicting narratives and arguing about the sensitive issues raised along the way. alternate telling their stories and sharing their secrets. As the victim, the suspect and the lone witness take turns with the narrative, 'truth' and 'guilt' grow increasingly elusive.įlinn, author of Breathing Underwater (2001) and Nothing to Lose (2004), takes aim at bullying once again. In this tautly constructed novel, an HIV-positive high school student sees his life 'fading to black.' Then an unknown assailant attacks him in his car, and he suddenly finds himself sifting shades of gray. Flinn, a former attorney, is also interested in point of view-or rather the challenges presented when multiple points of view collide.
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