03/06/2017
In a novel set in 1979 Virginia, Wolf (The Watch That Ends the Night) combines prose, poetry, and script-style dialogue as he traces the events that led 15-year-old Leonard Pelf to shoot and kill Christopher Goodman, 17, during their town’s annual Deadwood Days celebration. Shifting perspective among several teens who interacted with Christopher in the days leading up to the festival, Wolf weaves a tense story of shared grief and guilt. As Scott “Squib” Kaplan writes, “This is not Christopher Goodman’s murder. It is ours.... It belongs to every single one of us who is left alive.” The various narrative devices help keep the characters distinct (Leonard’s thoughts, written in verse, paint a picture of a foster child whose hopes and ambitions seem thwarted at every turn), though the story occasionally becomes slightly disjointed amid the frequent perspective changes. Closing notes reveal Wolf’s personal connection to this story: during his junior year in high school, a young neighbor was killed in a similar fashion. A spare yet powerful account of a teenager’s influence on his community and the rippling aftereffects of his death. Ages 14–up. (Mar.)
Wolf’s dynamic, multifaceted characters come vividly alive through their distinct speaking voices, and their struggle to come to terms with not only their guilt but the senselessness of the universe is deeply affecting. Artful, thoughtful, and utterly captivating.
—Booklist (starred review)
Wolf uses these unique formats to excellent effect to create a gripping mystery as well as a thoughtful character study in which the six teens grapple with their actions on the night of the murder and their blame, if any, in Christopher Goodman’s death. Recommended for most YA collections, this fast-paced novel will appeal to reluctant readers as well as fans of mystery and suspense.
—School Library Journal (starred review)
This is a thoughtful, remarkably well done novel that must have percolated in the author’s mind for years: It is based on a murder in the author’s own history, but limiting its audience to the true crime section would be its own crime. This novel should reach an audience as broad as its cast, and find fans just as widespread.
—VOYA
As several teens band together to play a revenge prank against an adult they’ve nicknamed “Mr. Self-Righteous,” the final climactic pieces of the plot fall into place, leaving students haunted by Pelf ’s senseless act of random violence.
—The Horn Book
In this novel in multiple voices, Wolf returns to an episode from his youth—the murder of a high school neighbor—with an eye toward probing the sadness, confusion, and vague guilt of the teens who knew the victim...tangled interrelationships among the teens are thoroughly believable, and readers will find plenty of intrigue in their aggregated points of view.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Shifting perspective among several teens who interacted with Christopher in the days leading up to the festival, Wolf weaves a tense story of shared grief and guilt...A spare yet powerful account of a teenager’s influence on his community and the rippling aftereffects of his death.
—Publishers Weekly
Written in poems and narrative, this unique novel displays a good understanding of human behavior and will appeal to readers who enjoyed Who Killed Mr. Chippendale? (Puffin Books, 1996) and those who appreciate suspense.
—School Library Connection
A heartfelt, intricate examination of what underlies human behavior.
—Kirkus Reviews
01/01/2017
Gr 9 Up—Christopher Goodman wears ridiculous bell bottoms, and the way he shakes hands with people is a little strange. He's also a genuinely nice guy, which is why everyone in Goldsburg, VA, is shocked when Chris is murdered during 1979's Deadwood Days, a Western street festival that draws tourists to the town every summer. While on a cross-country run, classmates Doc Chestnut and Squib Kaplan find Chris's body. Along with Hunger McCoy, Hazel Turner, and Mildred Penny, Doc and Squib carry the burden of knowing that they may have inadvertently played a part in the tragedy. As Wolf explains in his author's note, this mystery is inspired by an actual murder that occurred when he was a teen. The book features six narrators, including Chris's killer, and scenes that incorporate group dialogue are written in a screenplay format, which also extends to the book's initial "cast": David Oscar "Doc" Chestnut, the Sleepwalker; Leonard Pelf, the Runaway; Scott "Squib" Kaplan, the Genius; Hunger McCoy, the Good Ol' Boy; Hazel Turner, the Farm Girl; and Mildred Penny, the Stamp Collector. Distinctive narrative styles help readers differentiate among characters, with long-winded sentences for Squib, who has Tourette's syndrome, and verse passages for Leonard. Wolf uses these unique formats to excellent effect to create a gripping mystery as well as a thoughtful character study in which the six teens grapple with their actions on the night of the murder and their blame, if any, in Christopher Goodman's death. VERDICT Recommended for most YA collections, this fast-paced novel will appeal to reluctant readers as well as fans of mystery and suspense.—Emma Carbone, Brooklyn Public Library
2016-12-21
The day after a summer festival, two teenagers find the body of a schoolmate by the side of a road.The fictional college town of Goldsburg is the setting for this compelling novel based on a true story from the author's own hometown in Virginia. Goldsburg's annual Deadwood Days weekend is what keeps the local kids from total boredom. The shocking events of the summer of 1979 are narrated by a cast of white teenagers (all with epithets) who had all seen Christopher the night before he was murdered: Doc "The Sleepwalker" Chestnut, Squib "The Genius" Kaplan, Hunger "The Good Ol' Boy" McCoy, Hazel "The Farm Girl" Turner, and Mildred "The Stamp Collector" Penny. As a means to help the students work through their grief, they've been assigned to write memorial poems. The novel is cleverly constructed in their rotating prose and verse accounts starting four weeks after Deadwood Days and working backward. Set amid these narratives is the voice of the 15-year-old killer, Leonard "The Runaway" Pelf. The six teens have distinct personalities—Squib is pragmatic and cautious (and has Tourette's syndrome), for instance, and Hunger dabbles in taxidermy—and perspectives. Some hardly knew one another before the summer; some have close friendships tested. All of them feel some responsibility for the circumstances that led to that night's events. Within the confines of the assignment, they move nearly imperceptibly toward a greater understanding of themselves and each other. A heartfelt, intricate examination of what underlies human behavior. (author's note) (Historical fiction. 13-17)
Master storyteller Allan Wolf fictionalizes the true-crime murder of a teen from his hometown. He tells the story from the viewpoints of the young man’s schoolmates, including their various reactions to his death. The mark of excellence in a narrating ensemble is that characters are recognizable no matter who is narrating, but that that is not the case here, especially with the character of Squib. Nonetheless, his Tourette’s syndrome tics are believably and sensitively portrayed. Murderer Leonard Pelf comes across as a complex character—creepy but sympathetic. Distracting sound effects in a handful of scenes have a loud background hiss. C.M.A. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine
