Young Adult Book Reviews

Genre:  Realistic Fiction

Age Level:  14 and Up

# of Pages:  211

RAC Book: Yes

Kyle Kirby has planned to kidnap and bury Cass McBride alive.  He plans to do this because he believes she is responsible for the suicide of his brother, David.  Shortly before his suicide, David asked her out on a date and she declined and went on to write a note to her friend calling him some terrible names and questioning why he would think he was good enough to date her.  Of course David finds this note.  As David’s story begins to spill out we learn that David has had a very difficult life living with his mother and Kyle now feels guilty that he wasn’t able to save David.  Cass begins to realize a lot about herself while she is buried in the box as well and doesn’t like what she sees.

This is a powerful story about child abuse, high school hierarchies, parent/child relationships, guilt, revenge, and remorse.  Most readers will walk away from this book with a lot to think about regarding how they treat others and how they demand others treat them.  This book is very relevant to high school life and will continue to be so for many years.