Emotionally, this was a difficult book to read. Gantos manages to squeeze so much ugliness, hatred, confusion and fear into just over 100 pages, that the reader needs time to collect themselves - as though they had just run a marathon. It is an important read, granting readers a front row seat to self-preservation - at the expense of someone else. ( )

This novel was hard for me to gauge at first. I was going to give it a try, since the plausibility of this actually happening within a school is pretty good. The main character discovers that two of his girl classmates are dating, but keeps the secret to himself until he cracks under peer pressure. Darkly disturbing, this novel makes you think. If you are looking for a happily-ever-after, then this novel is not for you. ( )

It took me a little bit at the beginning to decide if I liked this book, but by the time I got to the end, there was no question. It's rare to see a teen book with such a realistic narrator: a high-school sophomore catches two of his female classmates secretly dating, and rather than tell them, he keeps the secret to himself--until the rest of the school, led by a creepy Preacher Kid moving in across the street, starts accusing him of being gay. Sure, sounds very realistic, but usually there's the Big Lesson that the kids learns, apologizes to classmates, and everyone's happy at the end. That's not the case here. Love, courage, betrayal--this isn't a happy story with happy characters. It's troubled, dark, and disturbing--and that's what makes this novel so amazing. ( )