Wish You Were Dead - Softcover

Strasser, Todd

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1606841386 ISBN 13: 9781606841389

Publisher: Carolrhoda Lab ®, 2010

Synopsis

I'll begin with Lucy. She is definitely first on the list. You can't believe how it feels to be in the cafeteria and turn around and there she is staring at me like I'm some disgusting bug or vermin. Does she really think I WANT to be this way? I hate you, Lucy. I really hate you. You are my #1 pick. I wish you were dead.

The day after anonymous blogger Str-S-d wishes the popular girl would die, Lucy vanishes. The students of Soundview High are scared and worried. Especially frightened and wracked with guilt is Madison Archer, Lucy's friend and the last person to see her the night she disappeared. As days pass with no sign of the missing girl, even the attention of Tyler, an attractive new student, is not enough to distract Madison from her growing sense of foreboding. When two more popular students disappear after their names are mentioned on Str-S-d's blog, the residents of Soundview panic. Meanwhile, Madison receives anonymous notes warning that she could be next. Desperate to solve the mystery before anyone else disappears, Madison turns to Tyler, but can she trust him when it becomes clear that he knows more than he's sharing? The clock is ticking. Madison must uncover the truth behind the mysterious disappearances . . . before her name appears in Str-S-d's blog.

In the spirit of stories like I Know What You Did Last Summer, Todd Strasser updates the teen thriller for the techno age with Wish You Were Dead.

About this title

About the Author:

Todd Strasser, author of Give a Boy a Gun, Boot Camp, If I Grow Up, and the Help, I’m Trapped . . . series, has written wildly popular middle-grade and teen books of all genres. When he's not speaking at schools and conferences, he makes his home in a suburb of New York City. Todd is active in a number of sports but enjoys surfing most of all. Visit him online at www.toddstrasser.com.

Review:

"Carefully plotted, this suspenseful novel blends the traditional with new tech details to successful end. Popular but kind Madison is the protagonist of what can be described as an almost archetypal teen thriller about a high-school clique being stalked (and, one by one, abducted) by an unknown villain. Interspersed throughout Madison's first-person narrative are blog postings by a bullied student at their school; each time she posts about a slight by one of her peers, that person mysteriously goes missing. Also peppered throughout are deliciously evil monologues from the perspective of the kidnapper that are both titillating and chilling. In keeping with the tradition of horror thrillers, readers will shake their heads at the implausibility of some of the characters' actions (for example, what mother would leave her daughter to go to an all-day meeting just after not one but three of her closest friends have been abducted?). However, realism is not the point here, and an impressive number of red herrings will keep readers guessing right up to the satisfying conclusion." ―Kirkus Reviews

(Journal)

"When a high school student announces on her blog that she hates Lucy Cunningham and wishes her dead, no one takes her seriously―until a few days later, when Lucy disappears. Madison Archer is particularly shaken by the disappearance, as she was the one who drove the missing girl home and was the last to see her that night. In addition to her guilt over not seeing Lucy safely to her door, Madison is also trying to uncover the identities of a cyber stalker who sends her Facebook messages lecturing her about her cliquishness and an anonymous 'friend' who leaves her hastily scribbled warnings and pleas for help. When the blogger posts another name, a second student goes missing. And then a third. Madison needs to find her missing friends before it's too late-for them and for herself. The action proceeds at a smooth pace and hits all the right notes of a teen thriller: revenge-seeking outcasts, betrayal, mysterious strangers, and some violence and torture (though it is not graphically depicted). Characters are distinct; readers will be able to tell even the background characters apart. The gimmick of incorporating blogging, chat, and Facebook is not as central to the story as the opening pages would imply, but the social-networking technologies are blended seamlessly into the narrative. Strasser's writing is more practical than poetic, but his gripping plot will keep readers turning pages late into the night." ―School Library Journal

(Journal)

"Starting a blog is sure to get anyone's attention, especially when you wish some of your classmates were dead. When the people mentioned in the blog begin to disappear, students in town are starting to realize they could be next. One girl, who is a volunteer for the Safe Ride program, brings her suspicions to the attention of a police detective and does some sleuthing of her own. Alternating chapters show the reader a one-way conversation with the abductor as well as more blog entries. This spine-tingling teen thriller will keep a reader up late turning pages to see who the threatening person turns out to be. A mystery set in modern technological times is a perfect fit for this 'killer' mystery. Some readers may be upset by the mention of torture and death. Recommended." ―Library Media Connection

(Journal)

5Q 4P S

"This book is a natural choice for readers who love stories that cause them to look over their shoulders and watch the shadows, fearing the unknown. Strasser offers a tightly written, authentic tale about a very popular high school clique that is being stalked and abducted one-by-one. The story is told by intertwining at least three narrators: a teen blogging about the kids she hates; a first-person narrative by Madison, a member of the popular clique; and strange monologues from a possible psychopathic kidnapper. Each narrator is given a unique font, which helps the reader manage the multiple narration changes. When the anonymous blogger blogs about one of the bullying popular kids, that person disappears. Two of the missing teens call Safe Rides, a school run service to make sure kids get home safely, right before they mysteriously disappear. Madison is in the thick of the situation. She knows that the mysterious new student, Tyler, knows something, but can she find out what before it is too late? Will her attraction to him interfere with her search for her friends? The themes of bullying, tolerance, and friendship are issues to which readers can relate, as well as the inclusion of the IMing, blogging, texting, and social networking. This thriller will be popular and passed from one reader to another." ―starred, VOYA

(Journal)

About this edition

• Publisher: Carolrhoda Lab ®
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 1606841386
• ISBN 13: 9781606841389
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 240