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Synopsis
Told entirely in the second person, Charles Benoit's stunning debut novel immerses us in the world of Kyle Chase, who once showed great potential but by tenth grade has become a genuine slacker. Then Kyle meets Zack – who is also bright, also disaffected, and more manipulative than Kyle can begin to imagine… With uncanny insight, crafting what can only be called YA Noir, Benoit takes us inside the mind of a young man on a collision course with catastrophe.
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About the Author
CHARLES BENOIT—occasional scuba diver and incurable novice saxophone player—works as Senior Copywriter and Producer for a marketing, advertising, and public relations firm. He also teaches creative writing workshops around the county. He lives in Rochester, New York, with his wife, Rose, a high school English teacher.
From School Library Journal
Gr 8 Up–As the book opens, Kyle Chase wonders how he got himself into the dire situation he's in. Reflecting on the start of the school year, he recalls how his grades fell and he enrolled at Midlands High, while his friends headed to Odyssey. He met the hoodie crew and adopted their uniform of jeans, T-shirt, and black-hooded sweatshirts. He suppressed the guilt he felt after the group broke into the school. He tried to do the right thing and return a stolen wallet, but got suspended for three days for fighting. Doing catch-up work in the library, Kyle encounters witty and sarcastic Zack and chooses to follow him around. However, after losing a job opportunity, a potential girlfriend, and the respect of a teacher, Kyle begins to suspect that he is being sabotaged. Benoit's choice of second-person perspective allows readers to explore Kyle's motivations fully, but infuses the narrative with a moralizing undertone; an undertone that erupts during the teen's climactic self-evaluation. However, the sense of persecution and unfairness that dominates the text accurately captures his perspective. While the teen characters are well developed, the casual attention paid to the adults is obvious. When Kyle is offhandedly dismissed by his mother in an overheard conversation with his younger sister, the emotional response is honest and visceral. The rapid pace is well suited to the narrative, though sophisticated readers will be able to identify the twist exactly halfway through. In the end, Benoit creates a fully realized world where choices have impact and the consequences of both action and inaction can be severe.Chris Shoemaker,The New York Public Library
© Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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