Author: Lois Duncan
Publication: New York: Bantam Doubleday Books for Young People
Publication Date: 1973
ISBN: 0-440-22844-1
Pages: 199 (regular-sized print)
Summary: Four friends kill a young boy in a car accident, then make a pact to never tell anyone about it. A year later, one of the teenagers receives a note and she realizes that someone knows what they did. As the threats become more and more violent, the friends must find out who the mysterious person is before he can act out his revenge.
Major Characters: Julie James, Ray Bronson (Julie's boyfriend), Helen Rivers, Barry Cox (Helen's boyfriend), Collingsworth (Collie, Bud), Wilson
Comments: Many people are familiar with this story because it was made into a movie starring Jennifer Love-Hewitt, Ryan Phillipe, Sarah-Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr. in 1997. It is sometimes marketed as a horror story, but I would classify it more as a suspense thriller. There are a lot of dark themes presented in the book, such as:
1) there are consequences for your actions
2) every person's life is connected to others
3) guilt is hard to deal with
4) karma (what goes around comes around)
5) selfishness
Some parents might have objections to this book because the main characters drink and smoke pot and Barry gets around quite a bit. (Plus, there's the whole issue of a maniac wandering around trying to kill people... ) Still, there are no sexually explicit scenes and very little swearing.
Genre: Suspense
Age level: 15+
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