Graduation (Final Friends, No. 3)

The last day of school has arrived at Tabb High. Michael Olson is convinced that Alice's death, nine months before, was murder rather than suicide and is just concluding his investigations. Will he survive this day?.

Grade 7 Up-- Pedestrian prose, improbable situations, and unlikable characters abound in this final volume to the "Final Friends" series. A rather long introduction rehashes the events in the first two volumes in which Alice committed suicide and Maria was crippled when someone sabotoged a homecoming float. In The Graduation , Michael is determined to prove that Alice's death was not a suicide. An all-night cruise, devoid of adult supervision, enables Michael to confront all of the students who were at the party when Alice died. Polly, Alice's sister, had actually staged the suicide to hide Alice's accidental death. Polly is crazy and feels responsible for both her sister's death and the earlier deaths of their parents in a car accident. Her dealings with an imaginary nemesis may cause some comprehension problems for poorer readers. Despite a serious head wound and concussion, Michael manages to have sex with Jessica; Maria regains the ability to walk; and several couples run off to be married. --Susan H. Williamson, Homer Center High School, Pa.
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