Inside Out

by Terry Trueman

Overview

In a busy coffee shop, a robbery goes wrong. Two gunmen hold seven hostages, including teenager Zach Wahhsted. What nobody realizes at first is that Zach is anything but ordinary and his troubled mind is more dangerous than any weapon. Terry Trueman has created a compelling character with the same shocking power and heartbreaking compassion as his Printz Honor Award debut novel, Stuck in Neutral.

Ages 12+

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780064473767
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	10/26/2004
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	128
Sales rank:	198,158
Product dimensions:	5.36(w) x 10.88(h) x 0.30(d)
Lexile:	710L (what's this?)
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

Terry Trueman grew up in the northern suburbs of Seattle, Washington. He attended the University of Washington, where he received his BA in creative writing. He also has an MS in applied psychology and an MFA in creative writing, both from Eastern Washington University.

Terry is also the author of Stuck in Neutral and its companion novel, Cruise Control; Hurricane; 7 Days at the Hot Corner; No Right Turn; and Inside Out.

Editorial Reviews

While a 16-year-old battling schizophrenia waits in a coffee shop for his mother to arrive with his medication, two boys attempt to rob the cafe and take hostages. PW called this "a vivid story of three desperate teens that recalls Robert Cormier, with its dark, disturbing theme and narrative shifts in rapid-fire succession." Ages 14-up. (Nov.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Gr 9 Up-When two teenage brothers attempt to hold up a Spokane coffee shop where Zach, 16, is waiting for his mother to bring his antipsychotic meds, he is among those held hostage. Thus begins this slender, but harrowing novel that depicts the standoff between the desperate pair and the police outside-all narrated by Zach, who is driven by impulsive outbursts, hateful voices in his head, and difficulty with processing reality. Chapters open with a brief passage that illuminates the history of his illness and suicide attempt, and interventions by his mother and psychiatrist. A phone call from the police to the robbers results in freedom for the others, but Zach, now overdue for his medicine, agrees to remain hostage. An odd bonding ensues among the troubled teens, all of whom are portrayed sympathetically. With no ammunition in their guns, the brothers are basically decent boys, scared and worried about their single mother's unemployment and cancer. Tension builds when one of them is wounded by a stray police bullet. They surrender, and Zach is reunited with his mother, his meds, and the simple comfort of a maple bar he had craved. A stark news article three months later imparts word that the unexpected hero of the crisis has committed suicide, the victim of his tragic illness. Trueman uses Zach's narration to challenge readers to feel the confusion and dark struggle of schizophrenia. The effect is disturbing, if somewhat didactic. Both the grim topic and strong language in this edgy novel suggest a mature audience.-Susan W. Hunter, Riverside Middle School, Springfield, VT Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

A hostage in a coffee shop burglary gone wrong, narrator Zach is a schizophrenic describing events and reacting to a frightening situation with a seeming stupidity that ups the ante. Most characters are shadowy, but the two inept burglars slowly reveal themselves as victims in many ways. The events unfold with an edge of danger that provides riveting suspense. Trueman's ability to get inside the head of this unsympathetic character is slightly less successful than in his earlier Stuck in Neutral (2000), which was a Printz Honor book. There is some context from letters at the start of each chapter, but the flatness and lack of emotion that is part of a schizophrenic's outlook is distancing and often makes Zach seem unintelligent. Readers will be unprepared for the ending, but give Trueman credit for attempting to provide some empathy for the "others" of our world who are too easily dismissed and ridiculed-in a plot line that grabs and doesn't let go. (Fiction. 12+)

Kirkus Reviews