Are You Still There - Hardcover

Scheerger, Sarah

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0807545570 ISBN 13: 9780807545577

Publisher: AW Teen, 2015

Synopsis

After her high school is rocked by an anonymous bomb threat, "perfect student" Gabriella Mallory is recruited to work on a secret crisis helpline that may help uncover the would-be bomber's identity.

Gabriella Mallory, AP student and perfect-daughter-in-training, stands barefoot on a public toilet for three hours while her school is on lockdown. Someone has planted a bomb and she is hiding. The bomb is defused but the would-be-bomber is still at large. And everyone at Central High School is a suspect. The school starts a top-secret crisis help line and Gabi is invited to join. When she does, she is drawn into a suspenseful game of cat and mouse with the bomber, who has unfinished business. He leaves threatening notes on campus. He makes threatening calls to the help line. And then he begins targeting Gabi directly. Is it because her father is the lead police detective on the case? Is the bomber one of her new friends. Could it be her new boyfriend with his complicated past? As the story unfolds, Gabi knows she is somehow connected to the bomber. Even worse she is part of his plan. Can Gabi reach out and stop him? Or will she be too late?

About this title

About the Author

Sarah Scheerger, LCSW, provides school-based counseling and other mental health services. She is grateful for the opportunity to support students along their journey. They inspire her daily with their strength and wisdom. Sarah is the author of eight books for young readers. She lives in California, with her family and their dog, Daisy.

Reviews

Gr 9 Up—Gabriella, poster child for the perfect high school-age daughter and college bound student, stands barefoot on a public toilet for three hours while her suburban school is on lockdown for a bomb threat. No one knows who planted it, and everyone is a suspect. The school creates an anonymous crisis call center made up of students from all the different social stratas. Gabi becomes friends with people she might never have talked to before. As more teens begin to use the call center, she realizes that there are more miserable people in her school than she ever would have guessed. She also begins to suspect that the bomber is somehow connected to her. This well-written story focuses on the bystanders, who don't actively do anything wrong but neither do they help. Interspersed between the chapters is the "Stranger's Manifesto," pages written in verse by the person who planted the bomb. Added into the mix are Gabi's father, who is a detective; her sister, who has always hung out with the students on the fringes of high school society; and her mother, who is a nervous woman striving for control of everything. The pacing moves quickly, adding information and fleshing out characters along the way. Reluctant readers will stay with this one as they try to figure out who really planted the bomb. VERDICT An excellent choice for fans of Todd Strasser's Give a Boy a Gun (S. & S., 2000) and Walter Dean Myers's Shooter (2004) and Monster (1999, both HarperCollins).—Deanna McDaniel, Genoa Middle School, OH

Edition details

• Publisher: AW Teen
• Publication date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0807545570
• ISBN 13: 9780807545577
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 288