Countdown

by M.J. McIsaac

Overview

Golden boy Myles is being blackmailed by someone sending texts threatening to expose a secret that could change his life forever.

Myles has it all: he’s popular, has an amazing girlfriend and won a full athletic scholarship to a top university. But on the day of his high school graduation ceremony, while he struggles to write his valedictorian speech, Myles receives a text that changes everything. Somehow, through text conversations in the next six hours, Myles has to discover the identity of the person threatening to reveal his darkest secret: his role in a rugby team hazing. And with so much to lose, Myles is willing to do whatever it takes to stop them.

This high-interest Orca Anchor book is written specifically for teens reading below a grade 2.0 level.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781459835375
Publisher:	Orca Book Publishers
Publication date:	02/14/2023
Series:	Orca Anchor
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	80
Lexile:	410L (what's this?)
File size:	1 MB
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

M.J. McIsaac is the author of several books for young people, including Boil Line and Underhand in the Orca Sports line and the Orca Currents title Alien Road. She has a master's degree in writing for children and is an accomplished illustrator as well. She lives with her family in Whitby, Ontario.

Editorial Reviews

The fast-paced plot as Myles tries to keep up with his blackmailer’s demands, will keep readers on the edge of their seats...For any library in the market for this series, Countdown would be a great addition! Highly Recommended.

CM: Canadian Review of Materials

2022-11-16
A high school overachiever learns one final, important lesson just before graduation.

An anonymous texter’s threat to post an incriminating picture proving that Myles was at an ugly hazing event—after he’d lied about it to protect his scholarship—turns class valedictorian Myles’ graduation day into a nightmarish scramble. In a promised exchange for the file, his nemesis forces him to revisit one by one the scenes of past misdeeds and to get in touch with some of his victims, from a classmate whose beloved teddy bear he stole in third grade to the girl with whom he lost his virginity and then dropped and a longtime friend he likewise ghosted after seeing him blamed for the hazing and expelled. Myles must apologize to each one and acknowledge his wrongdoing. Along with keeping to a low page count and using accessible, straightforward language, McIsaac tells her tale entirely in text messages, which has the effect of ramping up the pace and expertly capturing the troll’s taunting tone as well as Myles’ increasing desperation as the ceremony approaches. By the end, he has at last identified his tormenter, but more importantly, he’s figured out that posting the photo himself—with a short, sincere speech about owning up to failures and taking responsibility for them—is the right thing to do. The characters are minimally described and racially ambiguous.

A page-turner aimed at reluctant readers but apt to find a wider audience. (Fiction. 12-18)

Kirkus Reviews