Share: Another new book review

[Dawn Sardes <Dmsardes@AOL.COM>]

I have this week off, and my order from last month came in last Friday, so
I'm spending the week reading them.

Anyway, I finished Shades of Simon Gray by Joyce MacDonald.

Simon is a high school junior--a computer wiz who, in 9th grade, was
befriended by three older kids.  They manipulate him into hacking into the
schools computers to get them advance copies of tests.  Anyway these three
kids, now seniors, have all been accepted into ivy league colleges, but the
administration is onto the hacking.  Simon crashes his
car into the town's "Hanging Tree" & ends up in a coma.

What follows is a convoluted tale of his spirit roaming around and meeting
the spirit of a young man unjustly hanged from the tree in 1796 for a murder
he did not commit, a teacher who has been helping the school jocks access
porn, and a series of biblical-type plagues on the town.

My interest was held by the whole 1796 story line, and even that did not end
in a satisfactory manner.  These 3 kids were supposedly smart enough to ace
their SAT's, but their grades took a nose-dive after they could no longer
cheat on the teachers' tests.  Seems unlikely.  Also, they were unlikable,
nasty kids who never owned up to their cheating and got away with it due to
the kinky teacher taking the fall for everything.  How convenient.  I'm glad
I read it, and will attempt to sell it to the kids, but, after reading her
last, Shadow People, which I did like, I am a bit disappointed.

Well, next in my pile is Flight of the Raven, by Tolan.

Dawn Sardes
YA Librarian
Euclid Public Library
Dmsardes@aol.com

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