Searching for September
The selections for this month are centered around searching: for who you really are, for a solution to a problem, for a friend who disappeared, for a way to the next level. Each offers a unique perspective illustrating that life (and sometimes the afterlife) is not a destination, but a journey. It was Very difficult to pick a favorite for this month, so I went with the title that most embodied the theme.
The selections for this month are centered around searching: for who you really are, for a solution to a problem, for a friend who disappeared, for a way to the next level. Each offers a unique perspective illustrating that life (and sometimes the afterlife) is not a destination, but a journey. It was Very difficult to pick a favorite for this month, so I went with the title that most embodied the theme.
Cody's world revolves around two things: football and his girlfriend, Clea. But she just happens to be the daughter of the richest man in town, and he has plans for his daughter. When Clea gets sent away to boarding school, he decides it's best (for her) for them to break up, but she is never far from his mind. He plans to get a football scholarship to a good school, maybe one near her. He throws himself wholeheartedly into football. Junior year is the most important for scouts, after all. Then a cheap injury causes an ACL tear, and he's out for the season. Academics was never his strong suit, and now that there's no reason to keep his grades up, he doesn't. Finally, he drops out and starts working full time. It seems he's doomed to repeat the patterns of working class society just like his dad, until he sees a headline: "Local Girl Missing".Clea is missing! How can she be missing? He just got a letter in the mail from her. Suddenly, all he can think about is saving her. He quits his job, packs a bag, and starts driving. He shows up and blends in with other local teens in a search party. Something tells him to keep quiet about his relationship to Clea. People begin to tell him things, confiding in him about the circumstances of her disappearance, but he isn't buying their story. An experienced horse rider like Clea wouldn't have fallen off her horse, or gotten lost in woods. Something else is going on.
The police chief isn't buying his act. He runs his plates, makes a few calls, and calls him out. His punishment: he enlists Cody's help as a man inside. Cody takes a job at the stable, and is able to keep a close eye on what goes on around the school. The more he learns about the town, the more suspicious he is of everyone. Will he find Clea before something happens to her? Or before something happens to him?
It's an easy read, with a twist you don't see coming at the end. It will probably appeal more to male readers, although girls will enjoy it as well. There is something about trying to piece together the parts of a mystery that will always entertain me.
"He found he was shaking; the letter was like a message from the... But no: He pushed that thought away, refused to allow his mind to even think it, not once. He reread the letter, kept coming back to those two lines: One or two I don't like at all. It's hard to know who to
trust sometimes. Could they now be considered some kind of...evidence?" (Abrams pg. 91-92, 2009).
If you liked this, check out:
Down the Rabbit Hole by Peter Abrams
Down the Rabbit Hole by Peter Abrams
Abrams, Peter. (2009). Reality Check. New York, NY: Laura Geringer Books, HarperTeen.
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