I first got this book because I thought the title (along with the cover was interesting). It ended up being one of my favorite books.
This book is a must-read for everyone.
Reviewed by Angie Fisher for TeensReadToo.com
It's a rite of passage from adolescence to adulthood, leaving old friends behind for a future beckoning with invitations of bigger and better things to come. There is a reason we outgrow friendships. Sometimes things are better left behind.
Peter wasn't even thinking when he got the phone call; after all, it was summer. If he would have been, he'd have stuck with Raymond and let the others go on without them without looking back. As it was, nostalgia got the better of him, and he agreed to meet one last time in the den, their former home-away-from-home, but only if Raymond could come, too. Besides, he and Nicole had more than just a past, didn't they?
Five former friends, some booze, and a combination of drugs (some by choice, some not), add up to one night of confusion, chaos, and death. What follows in classic Brooks fashion is a mystery that continues to weave into itself more intricately rather than toward a resolution. Oh yes, certain issues are resolved involving who murdered whom along the way, but it's hard to say when we find those details out that it even matters. Who we end up caring most about is not the rich, fake, do-anything-to-be-famous Stella, but the odd, loner Raymond who talks to his black rabbit. Oh yeah, and it talks back to him.
Brooks is extraordinary at pulling us into his characters, leading us ever so slowly to answers, and then leaving much, though not all, left unsaid. If you are looking for a perfect ending, he's probably not your man. If you are looking to be challenged as a reader and not spoon-fed all the answers? Here's yet another of his works where you won't walk away being disappointed.
It's a rite of passage from adolescence to adulthood, leaving old friends behind for a future beckoning with invitations of bigger and better things to come. There is a reason we outgrow friendships. Sometimes things are better left behind.
Peter wasn't even thinking when he got the phone call; after all, it was summer. If he would have been, he'd have stuck with Raymond and let the others go on without them without looking back. As it was, nostalgia got the better of him, and he agreed to meet one last time in the den, their former home-away-from-home, but only if Raymond could come, too. Besides, he and Nicole had more than just a past, didn't they?
Five former friends, some booze, and a combination of drugs (some by choice, some not), add up to one night of confusion, chaos, and death. What follows in classic Brooks fashion is a mystery that continues to weave into itself more intricately rather than toward a resolution. Oh yes, certain issues are resolved involving who murdered whom along the way, but it's hard to say when we find those details out that it even matters. Who we end up caring most about is not the rich, fake, do-anything-to-be-famous Stella, but the odd, loner Raymond who talks to his black rabbit. Oh yeah, and it talks back to him.
Brooks is extraordinary at pulling us into his characters, leading us ever so slowly to answers, and then leaving much, though not all, left unsaid. If you are looking for a perfect ending, he's probably not your man. If you are looking to be challenged as a reader and not spoon-fed all the answers? Here's yet another of his works where you won't walk away being disappointed.
