Coverup

by Jay Bennett

"Quick and fun with a satisfying resolution."
VOYA
All Brad remembers about that party was that his friend Alden Whitlock drove him home. He also has the nagging feeling that while he was sleeping in the passenger seat, Alden hit something--or someone. Alden and his father, a powerful judge, deny that anything took place. Brad isn't so sure--especially when beautiful Ellen Hanson comes searching in town for her lost father. Suddenly Brad is forced to examine his cushioned world of privilege and to choose between the truth and deceit. Either way, Brad could lose....

144 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Jay Bennett (born in New York City, December 24, 1912, died June 27, 2009 in Cherry Hill, NJ) was an American author and two-time winner of the Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America. Bennett won the Edgar for Best Juvenile novel in 1974 and 1975, for The Long Black Coat (Delacorte Press) and The Dangling Witness (Delacorte Press), respectively. He was the first author to win an Edgar in consecutive years. A third book, The Skeleton Man (Franklin Watts), was nominated in 1987. Bennett is best known among English teachers and young adults for these and other juvenile mysteries, like Deathman, Do Not Follow Me (Scholastic).

Reviews

[Khaliah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was an amazing book I could read this book over and over it had you on the edge of your seat to see what was going to happen next who is he going to meet what is he going to decide to do about everything

[Joaquin Figueroa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coverup is a teen based book written by Jay Bennett. The main character is Brad and one night he went to a party with his bestfriend Alden. They both got badly drunk and Alden still took Brad home, even though neither were good enough to drive. The next morning, Brad wakes up clueless of everything that happened last night, but he has slight flashbacks of Alden hitting something on the road. Throughout the book, Brad continues to pressure Alden into telling him the truth of what happened that night on Wilson Lane. However, Alden and his dad, Peter, hide the evidence and give a fake story to the police.
Brad starts to become irritated and obsessed with finding out what happened and finally, Emily (Alden's mom) confesses to Brad. They even go to the police to see what the fake story was about. Apparently, the police even covered up for Alden by saying that Alden barely bumped a man, but it was moving too slow to hurt him. Peter becomes furious of what can happen to himself and Alden if everyone knows the truth. Finally, the truth comes out that Alden did kill somebody that night. In the end, Alden goes to prison and Peter loses all his political power as a former judge.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've never heard of this author and only discovered this book at a used bookstore. I'm not a fan and want to discover more of Jay Bennett's YA fiction. This novel is a fast paced, easy-to-read, and heavy dialogue story about a young man who gets drunk one night at a party and when he and his friend drive home, something terrible happens, but the teen can't remember everything, and it starts to haunt him. Once he does start to figure things out, his rich friend insists nothing happened, but how can you prove something did while you were drunk? It's a simple, yet effective plot and kept me reading. Can't wait to find other novels by the same author. My rating - 4/5

[Echo · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is one of the worst books I’ve ever read. I picked it up and thought it would be a nice short book with an interesting ending, but the way people speak in the story is so confusing, boring and horrible. Right from the start you know who it is. It’s so obvious. The whole book is brad ranting about how he should or shouldn’t trust Alden. Don’t pick up this book to read unless you like obvious and boring books. The back of the book is nothing compared to the actual story, don’t let this waste your time. I can’t give it a 0 so I give it a 1.

[Mosrour Tafadar · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best quote of this book "We are nothing but a bunch of killer. We kill minds, we kill hearts, and we kill bodies. And then we put on our brightly painted masks and smile and bow to each other."

[Adam Kovynia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book! I never knew about this author or his books until 2021 because I saw it on a self of used books. I wonder if the author was thinking of a specific town for the story to take place in. it only says Connecticut. I'm looking forward to reading Jay Bennett's other books now.

[Famke van den Einden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect book to read on a lazy day. It’s just 136 pages so it’s perfect to take with you on a vacation. Also very accessible book for people who want to learn to read in English. For me, English is my second language, but there weren’t any hard words that I had to look up.

[Samantha Shay · Rating 3 out of 5]

It wasn’t my favorite, but I did enjoy it!

[Jordan Fortson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coverup by Jay Bennett is a story about a young man, Brad, trying to figure out what happens after a drunken night at a party. With his friends trying to hide the truth, and no recollection of what happened, Brad can't seem to get himself together. In the midst of all the chaos, Brad meets a woman named Ellen and starts a romance. Personally, I love that there is a bit of sweet spot among all of the mystery and frustration in the book. Coverup is amazing because as soon as you think it's all been figured out, something throws you off. The twist and turns keep you on your toes, and it is extremely exciting. With the main characters being teenagers, it is relatable to the people in my age group due to the aspects of partying and mistrust among friends. The only negative thing I can say about this book is the set up is a little awkward. The chapters are very short, some are 1 page and others are 4-5. Other than that the book is amazing. I would definitely recommend this book to a friend because I feel as though they could relate just like I did.

[Karrissa Doerhoff]

In the book Cover up by Jay Bennett is about these two teenagers, Brad and Alden. Alden and Brad have been friends for a long time, every since they were little boys. This one night Brad and Alden went out to a party, they weren’t making good decisions, Alden and Brad got drunk then Alden decided to drive home. Brad told him not to, but he got in the car anyways. I think this book was a good book, it was a fast book, it was a real page-turner. I don’t think this book affected me, but a good read. The character that I would wish to be is Brad because he still got drunk, but he didn’t go to jail. I would like to be a crazy kid, going wild, but wouldn’t want going to jail on my record.

[M.B. Lambert · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so good! Had me on the edge of my seat, wondering what was going to happen next. I read this book years ago and it's still amazing. I would definitely recommend this book to young adult mystery readers.

[Cws]

JAR6-Ben