Rumors at School Author:Dennis M. Doyle, Patrick Doyle Father-son writing teams are unusual enough, but this one goes a step further when the son on the team is the same age as the audience he's writing for. Dennis Doyle and his son, Patrick, fully capture the complexities of pre-adolescent life in this engaging read about the consequences of a single lie. The action begins when sixth-grader Patrick... more » Dublin gets his first phone call from a girl, only to hear her say she likes his best friend. Patrick's resulting lie snowballs as the lie leads to rumors, theft, accusations, suspension from school, even physical injury, and the snowball becomes an avalanche rushing inexorably toward the main characters. The reactions of Patrick and of those around him show that life, even at so young an age, is full of ambiguities: truth versus lies, white lies, and lies of omission. Rumors at School begins with an engaging character who slips and falls but eventually redeems himself; readers will identify easily with both the "good" and "bad" elements of his personality. The realistic backgrounds for the book include both the classes and hallways of a parochial school, the all-important basketball court, and a home-life made tense by quarreling parents. Both the story and the themes are right on target with the fears and concerns of readers ages nine to fourteen. Rumors at School shows the wide-reaching consequences of a single act. It's perfect to prompt discussion at home and in class about everyday ethics. Despite the parochial school setting, this is good reading for all Christian kids in their pre- and early teens, for confirmation candidates, and for members of youth groups. Also recommend it to parents and grandparents, youth ministers, and parochial school English and religion teachers.« less