Hell Phone - Hardcover

Sleator, William

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0810954796 ISBN 13: 9780810954793

Publisher: Amulet, 2006

Synopsis

A murder story with a devilish twist

Nick wants a cell phone so he can talk to his girlfriend, Jen, after school, but he doesn’t have a lot of money. The used phone he buys seems like a bargain, until the phone calls begin—strangers calling night and day, some begging for help, others making demands. Nick wants to get rid of the phone, but something prevents him, and, soon he finds himself committing crimes—stealing, conning . . .and killing.

Fans of William Sleator’s The Boy Who Couldn’t Die will enjoy this equally diabolical thriller.

About this title

About the Author:

With more than thirty years of award-winning writing, William Sleator is considered a master of science fiction and thrillers for middle-grade readers and young adults. R.L. Stine calls Sleator “one of my favorite young adult writers,” and Publishers Weekly says of his work “[this is] the best that science fiction can offer.” Sleator divides his time between homes in Boston, Massachusetts, and rural Thailand.

From Booklist:

Sleator cranks the suspense knob up to 11 in this tale of an innocent teenager led astray by a smooth voice on the other end of a cell phone. The used phone that Nick buys from a sulfurous-smelling dealer is cheap, but it has a few odd features, including a disabled caller ID and a set of "Games from Real Hell." It also comes with a history, as Nick discovers when it starts ringing. When he answers it, he finds himself talking to Fleck, a dead man calling from hell, who tells him a tale about a homicidal teenager out to kill his sister to inherit a family fortune. It's Nick who ends up pulling the trigger, after which he learns that everything has been an elaborate scam--except for the hell part, as he discovers in a most disagreeable way. Despite the unpleasant revelation, Sleator manages to whiplash the plot around to an upbeat conclusion. Readers shouldn't examine the internal logic here too closely, nor should they start reading this around bedtime. John Peters
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About this edition

• Publisher: Amulet
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0810954796
• ISBN 13: 9780810954793
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 237