Christopher Pike excelled in entertaining and swiftly moving thrillers for older young adults who were a bit more worldly. In this early effort from 1986, an involving story-line emerges within a narrative with steady movement. Pike keeps us turning pages to discover not only what happened in the past, but what’s going to happen now. Readers shouldn’t think too hard about this one, or many of Pike’s entertaining thrillers, any more than they should films like Scream, or I Know What You did Last Summer. You just enjoy the fun ride. And that is exactly what Weekend is, a thrill ride.

Robin and Lena Carlton live in a beach house on Point Eugenia in rural Mexico. Their adopted father is a wealthy record mogul. Robin is very ill, with failing kidneys. Every one of the young adults headed for Mexico by invitation after graduation, feels guilty about Robin’s situation. It seems they were all at the party where the “accident” involving Robin’s condition happened. Even though police could not prove it was intentional, each of the kids wonders if it was. This includes Shani Tucker, Robin’s best friend; Bert, the affable one; Sol, the barrio wolf among sheep at Hoover High; Lena, who stole Sol from high-strung and sometimes strung-out Kerry Ladd; Park Jacomini, who after the accident, dumped Robin for Angie; and a relative newcomer from England, dreamy Flynn Powers, Shani’s crush.

We get most of the narrative through the eyes of Shani, and Park. It’s fun to “watch” Pike peel back the layers as two separate groups approach Mexico. There was a prank that Kerry feels was perpetrated by the more sophisticated — and bitchy — Lena, who is the polar opposite of her sweet sister, Robin. Tension builds as they arrive, and everyone begins wondering why no one else from class has arrived. Lena may have had the wrong date on the invitations, making them arrive later. But is that true? These are kids with a lot of history, and Pike does a great job with their interactions. Sure, there are some stereotypes, but everyone who went to high school will recognize at least two or three of these personalities, because they ring true.

In chapter five, Pike gives us the flashback we’ve been waiting for, showing us the party from November at the heart of this supposedly dream weekend in Mexico. The author makes the kids real in that they aren’t always likable, and at other times we sympathize with them. It’s not clear who to root for, or even whether any of them can be ruled out as suspects. A couple of things seem obvious, but then is that so obvious that it must be a red herring? Finally there’s an explosion, and one of the group is dead. A tragic accident, or revenge? And still, why hasn’t anyone else arrived? If someone wants revenge, they’ll need to find out who put Robin out of action that night in order to save their own hides. With this group of friends, it may not be so easy.

This was a blast from the past, incredibly entertaining. I couldn’t stop reading, and had great fun. The climax is exciting, and the twist, while not totally unexpected, does add to the wonderfully cheesy but adorably satisfying aftermath. Fun not only for the audience at which it was originally aimed, but also those who like a retro ‘80s blast once in a while, Weekend is a great beach book, or a good one to curl up with on a rainy night. Terrific fun, and highly recommended! ( )

While this is an overall good book the ending was just not believable to me. It's also very reminiscent of Pike's other book Slumber Party, like he just switched up the names and a few key points. This would have been a 4 star book if the ending wasn't so dissatisfying. ( )

While this is an overall good book the ending was just not believable to me. It's also very reminiscent of Pike's other book Slumber Party, like he just switched up the names and a few key points. This would have been a 4 star book if the ending wasn't so dissatisfying. ( )

I'm not sure when I read this, I wanna say around 1997... but lets just say i read the shit out of my copy that I had to start borrowing from the library. It's so weird this was one of my favorite two books ever when I was a pre-teen. Seriously, this was number two back then. I still remember just about everything about it too. :P ( )

Sorry folks. I really should stop reading these books. But this one was available at the library. I was helpless. And I can’t promise that I won’t be going back to the library for more; apparently there’s a five-book vampire series that came out this century, so I kind of feel obligated to check it out.

But back to this one, brought to you by the year 1986. Same basic premise as Slumber Party – a bunch of friends are getting together for a weekend away, and one of them was seriously injured (poisoned to the point that her kidneys no longer work) at a party a few months prior. This takes place at a beach, not a lodge, and there are guys already part of the group. It is set at a fancy house on the Mexican coast (Mr. Pike seems to enjoy his super-rich kids). There are cat-fighting girls. There is a mystical man (one guess as to his described ethnicity). There are snakes.

This one had one twist that I saw about two chapters in; there was another twist that took me maybe four chapters. What I’m saying is that there isn’t a lot left to the imagination. And sometimes the writing is kind of hilarious – Mr. Pike is clearly trying to paint pictures with words. Sometimes he is really successful (I have to say I have no problem conjuring up his worlds in my mind) and sometimes he just goes overboard.

Am I glad I read it? Sure. Can I recommend it? Eh. If you’ve got 90 minutes to kill and want to dive into a little YA fun, you could do worse.
( )