Wanna know who the REAL bad guys in your school are? Read You. This book will keep you reading, and then it will start you thinking. And talking. You is GOOD stuff.
Wanna know who the REAL bad guys in your school are? Read You. This book will keep you reading, and then it will start you thinking. And talking. You is GOOD stuff.
A sense of doom pervades this gripping YA debut from adult mystery writer Benoit, made all the more devastating by an empathetic main character. Second-person omniscient narration invites readers into Kyle's grim story: "Welcome to the official start of tenth grade. Welcome to the last year of your life." Previous bad choices have landed him at Midlands High, and as one of the school's burnout "Hoodies" (so-named for their requisite hooded sweatshirts), Kyle finds his world increasingly circumscribed. "Every day you get up, go to school, fake your way through your classes, come home, get hounded about your homework... and the next day you get to do it all over again." Bright but unmotivated, Kyle is easily swept into newcomer Zach's sinister orbit, as the wealthy and psychologically brutal Zach defends, charms, and then seeks to destroy him. Kyle's internal thought processes (frequent lists, parental nagging, one-sided conversations) convey a conflicting swirl of emotions--rage, distrust, betrayal, empathy, and love--while an overarching defeatism prevents him from acting on constructive impulses. Disturbing content blends with skillful, fast-paced writing, adding a thriller spin to the novel's vicious realism. Ages 12–up. (Sept.)
Benoit is a rare discovery.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Wanna know who the REAL bad guys in your school are? Read You. This book will keep you reading, and then it will start you thinking. And talking. You is GOOD stuff.” — Sara
Gr 8 Up—Charles Benoit's debut young adult novel (HarperTeen 2010) is told in the second person, hence the title. Listeners meet 15-year-old Kyle Chase, a smart, angry, bored slacker who is a member of his high school's "hoodies" group. The teenager is trying to find his way through a crush on a girl, his mother's constant questioning of what he is doing with his life, and the attention of some school bullies and Zack, the new kid in school whose daring escapades turn into something much more dangerous. Through David Baker's deep vocal patterns and deliberate pacing tinged with appropriate levels of judgmental undertones, listeners become Kyle Chase, once promising student and now frustrated and slightly apologetic slacker. The crafting that Benoit does to make Kyle seem at once sympathetic and infuriating is skillfully and convincingly conveyed in Baker's powerful performance that takes listeners through each decision (and indecision) that Kyle makes to bring him to an unforgettable impasse with his final choice to act on behalf of the girl he loves. This edgy, disturbing novel drives home the reality that each choice you make or do not make leads to real consequences that can be life changing.—Stephanie A. Squicciarini, Fairport Public Library, NY
The listener becomes underachieving sophomore Kyle Chase in this thriller written in the second person. Narrator David Baker’s deadpan tone tells you what you think, feel, and do as Kyle navigates a dreary high school existence full of judgmental adults, cruel teens, and boring classes. Baker's flat style makes it possible for listeners to easily put themselves in Kyle's shoes. His vivid character voices contrast vividly with Kyle’s voice and fuel the story's conflicts, especially Kyle’s encounters with the quirky but cruel new guy, Zack. This could be just an average story of teen ennui if you weren’t kept busy trying to find out why there is so much blood and what choices led you to spill it. S.T.C. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
The listener becomes underachieving sophomore Kyle Chase in this thriller written in the second person. Narrator David Baker’s deadpan tone tells you what you think, feel, and do as Kyle navigates a dreary high school existence full of judgmental adults, cruel teens, and boring classes. Baker's flat style makes it possible for listeners to easily put themselves in Kyle's shoes. His vivid character voices contrast vividly with Kyle’s voice and fuel the story's conflicts, especially Kyle’s encounters with the quirky but cruel new guy, Zack. This could be just an average story of teen ennui if you weren’t kept busy trying to find out why there is so much blood and what choices led you to spill it. S.T.C. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
Quiet, hoodie-wearing slacker Kyle Chase has anger-control issues and wants to be left alone by his teachers, his parents and the rest of the world. He's constantly in trouble at school, and he spends most of his time hanging out with his similarly washed-up friends or pining after his crush. That is, until he meets Zack, a mysteriously manipulative bon vivant who takes him under his wing. At first Zack's schemes seem harmless—especially when they protect Kyle—but when they turn dangerous, Kyle finds he's in too deep to escape. Told completely in the second person, Benoit's first YA effort reads sharply and seamlessly, full of staccato, cut-to-the-action prose that will rivet teen readers à la Gail Giles or Kate Morgenroth. Readers will know that a train wreck is inevitable, and clever foreshadowing hints at Kyle's eventual downfall. Characters are all fully fleshed, with the exception of Kyle's parents, who sound more like adults in a Peanuts comic strip than parents. The novel's disturbing, ambiguous conclusion will provoke discussions about choices, right/wrong and responsibility. Harrowing. (Fiction. 12 & up)
