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Fade to Black: A Suspenseful Young Adult Thriller of Secrets, Lies, and Truth
Three perspectives -- one truth
The victim: After his windshield was shattered with a baseball bat, HIV-positive Alex Crusan ducked under the steering wheel. But he knows what he saw. Now he must decide what he wants to tell.
The witness: Daria Bickell never lies. So if she told the police she saw Clinton Cole do it, she must have. But did she really?
The suspect: Clinton was seen in the vicinity of the crime that morning. And sure, he has problems with Alex. But he'd never do something like this. Would he?
The victim: After his windshield was shattered with a baseball bat, HIV-positive Alex Crusan ducked under the steering wheel. But he knows what he saw. Now he must decide what he wants to tell.
The witness: Daria Bickell never lies. So if she told the police she saw Clinton Cole do it, she must have. But did she really?
The suspect: Clinton was seen in the vicinity of the crime that morning. And sure, he has problems with Alex. But he'd never do something like this. Would he?
184 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2005
34 people are currently reading
1312 people want to read
About the author
Alex Flinn
29 books5,645 followersLove Jacaranda is out in the world! Hope you'll check out this fun wish-fulfillment romance!
Now, bio:
I grew up on a street called Salem Court. This probably influenced my interest in witches. When I was five, my mom said I should be an author. And when I was eight, I got my first rejection letter from Highlights Magazine.
I learned to read early. But I compensated for this early proficiency by absolutely refusing to read the programmed readers required by the school system -- workbooks where you read the story, then answered the questions. When the other kids were on Book 20, I was on Book 1! My teacher, Mrs. Zeiser, told my mother, "Alexandra marches to her own drummer." I don't think that was supposed to be a compliment.
My family moved to Miami when I was in middle school. I had a really hard time making friends, so I spent a lot of time reading and writing then. By high school, I'd made some friends and gotten involved in various "gifted and talented" performing arts programs. I studied opera in college (I'm a coloratura -- the really loud, high-pitched sopranos.) and then went to law school.
It was law school that probably helped with my first novel. Breathing Underwater deals with the serious and all-too-common problem of dating violence. I based the book on my experiences interning with the State Attorney's Office and volunteering with battered women. I thought this was a really important topic, as 27 percent of teenage girls surveyed have been hit by a boyfriend. I'm happy that the book is so popular, and if you are reading this bio because the book was assigned for school, I'm happy about that too.
I think I write for young-adults because I never quite got over being one. In my mind, I am still 13-years-old, running laps on the athletic field, wearing this really baggy white gymsuit. I’m continually amazed at the idea that I have a checking account and a mortgage. So I try to write books that gymsuit girl might enjoy. It’s a way of going back to being thirteen . . . knowing what I know now.
Right now, I live half a mile away from my old middle school, in Palmetto Bay, a suburb of Miami, with my husband, daughters, dogs, and cats.
Now, bio:
I grew up on a street called Salem Court. This probably influenced my interest in witches. When I was five, my mom said I should be an author. And when I was eight, I got my first rejection letter from Highlights Magazine.
I learned to read early. But I compensated for this early proficiency by absolutely refusing to read the programmed readers required by the school system -- workbooks where you read the story, then answered the questions. When the other kids were on Book 20, I was on Book 1! My teacher, Mrs. Zeiser, told my mother, "Alexandra marches to her own drummer." I don't think that was supposed to be a compliment.
My family moved to Miami when I was in middle school. I had a really hard time making friends, so I spent a lot of time reading and writing then. By high school, I'd made some friends and gotten involved in various "gifted and talented" performing arts programs. I studied opera in college (I'm a coloratura -- the really loud, high-pitched sopranos.) and then went to law school.
It was law school that probably helped with my first novel. Breathing Underwater deals with the serious and all-too-common problem of dating violence. I based the book on my experiences interning with the State Attorney's Office and volunteering with battered women. I thought this was a really important topic, as 27 percent of teenage girls surveyed have been hit by a boyfriend. I'm happy that the book is so popular, and if you are reading this bio because the book was assigned for school, I'm happy about that too.
I think I write for young-adults because I never quite got over being one. In my mind, I am still 13-years-old, running laps on the athletic field, wearing this really baggy white gymsuit. I’m continually amazed at the idea that I have a checking account and a mortgage. So I try to write books that gymsuit girl might enjoy. It’s a way of going back to being thirteen . . . knowing what I know now.
Right now, I live half a mile away from my old middle school, in Palmetto Bay, a suburb of Miami, with my husband, daughters, dogs, and cats.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 148 reviews
April 9, 2011
There are not a lot of Young Adult novel with the theme of HIV/AIDS. The new releases on the subject are just a handful each year, but each book published is a new adventure. From the few I have read and the others I have browsed, none are the same, and they all offer something different. Alex Flinn's Fade To Black is no exception and draws a bigger picture around people deemed "different".
The story is told through three different perspectives. From the point of view of the victim, Alex Crusan first, an HIV-positive teenager whose car has been shattered by a baseball bat while he was in the car. From the point of view of the witness, Daria a teenage girl with Down Syndrome who goes to the same school as Alex. And finally, from the point of view of Clinton, the guy who doesn't hide he has a problem with Alex at school, the guy who was seen next to the crime location the morning it took place.
~~
Fade To Black is an absolutely unique and beautiful story. Told in three conflicting point of views, it shows how different "truth" can be. Alex Flinn got into the head of both Alex and Daria in a way that will stay with you. Not because you see how they are inside, but because you see, through their eyes, how they are seen by others. They are both "not like other kids" and are looked as such. Alex explains how other teenagers avert their eyes when they cross him in the school corridors because they don't want him to feel as if they are staring at him and they don't want him to think they are judging him. Alex sees this and thinks it's sometimes worse than someone directly in conflict with him, because at least they interact with him. Even though the other teenagers "don't judge him", they don't try to make friends with him either and Alex explains how lonely he feels all the time. It changes from the black and white conceptions of "people who are against people with AIDS are evil" or "HIV positive people should be quarantined". That's why he relates to Daria who has no friends at school either.
The passages in Clinton's head were the most interesting part to read and I thought the combination of the three perspectives was just so fascinating. When you look at Clinton from the outside, you think he is one of those intolerant self-righteous idiots who can't bear anyone else with a difference. On the inside, it is another story entirely. Other than reading about him being bullied and really loving and caring about his younger sister, you read about someone who acts in sync with his ideas. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying he is right when he wants to change seats in class because he is sitting next to Alex, on the contrary. But his attitude comes mainly from his ignorance of the virus. His fear of HIV is more important than his hate for Alex. I thought it was an interesting point of view to observe.
One of the major themes is bullying and more particularly how teenagers reject others who don't fit in the right mould. A minority might be violent or insulting, but the worse is the silent majority feigning not to notice, and not trying to include them. Daria and Alex both talk of how invisible they feel.
The other major theme is family. Without going in too much details, I think that Alex Flinn had the tremendous talent to really go inside the head of those teenagers and show how they interact with their parents. One of the most important aspect I keep noticing in YA literature is how parents fail to understand what is going on in their children's heads. The conflict between Alex and his overprotective mother was quite interesting to read from Alex's point of view, same goes for Daria and Clinton's relations with their respective mothers.
Alex is HIV positive, and as you may know (or not, though you can read my Sunday post (here) if you haven't), he carries the virus but it hasn't completely overtaken his immune system. The book was written in 2005, and it changes from the first wave of YA books written in the 1980s/90s at the early stages of the epidemics. I found it interesting how people's opinion of HIV-positive people differs depending on how the virus was contracted. If it was through a transfusion, it is a tragedy; if it was through drugs or sex it makes the person filthy and they (nearly) deserve their fate.
This story is absolutely beautiful and helps you get inside the head of someone who is HIV positive, as well as someone with Down Syndrome. Alex Flinn's writing is simply perfect. She really gets into the head of these three teenagers and brings us a fascinating story. In very simple words and powerful ideas, we get our own conceptions thrown back at us and we just realise how much more beautiful the world is with all its shades of grey.
I cannot recommend this book enough as it a fascinating YA novel for people wanting to know more about HIV, but also about major issues teenagers encounter such as bullying or the relationship they have with their families.
The story is told through three different perspectives. From the point of view of the victim, Alex Crusan first, an HIV-positive teenager whose car has been shattered by a baseball bat while he was in the car. From the point of view of the witness, Daria a teenage girl with Down Syndrome who goes to the same school as Alex. And finally, from the point of view of Clinton, the guy who doesn't hide he has a problem with Alex at school, the guy who was seen next to the crime location the morning it took place.
~~
Fade To Black is an absolutely unique and beautiful story. Told in three conflicting point of views, it shows how different "truth" can be. Alex Flinn got into the head of both Alex and Daria in a way that will stay with you. Not because you see how they are inside, but because you see, through their eyes, how they are seen by others. They are both "not like other kids" and are looked as such. Alex explains how other teenagers avert their eyes when they cross him in the school corridors because they don't want him to feel as if they are staring at him and they don't want him to think they are judging him. Alex sees this and thinks it's sometimes worse than someone directly in conflict with him, because at least they interact with him. Even though the other teenagers "don't judge him", they don't try to make friends with him either and Alex explains how lonely he feels all the time. It changes from the black and white conceptions of "people who are against people with AIDS are evil" or "HIV positive people should be quarantined". That's why he relates to Daria who has no friends at school either.
The passages in Clinton's head were the most interesting part to read and I thought the combination of the three perspectives was just so fascinating. When you look at Clinton from the outside, you think he is one of those intolerant self-righteous idiots who can't bear anyone else with a difference. On the inside, it is another story entirely. Other than reading about him being bullied and really loving and caring about his younger sister, you read about someone who acts in sync with his ideas. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying he is right when he wants to change seats in class because he is sitting next to Alex, on the contrary. But his attitude comes mainly from his ignorance of the virus. His fear of HIV is more important than his hate for Alex. I thought it was an interesting point of view to observe.
One of the major themes is bullying and more particularly how teenagers reject others who don't fit in the right mould. A minority might be violent or insulting, but the worse is the silent majority feigning not to notice, and not trying to include them. Daria and Alex both talk of how invisible they feel.
The other major theme is family. Without going in too much details, I think that Alex Flinn had the tremendous talent to really go inside the head of those teenagers and show how they interact with their parents. One of the most important aspect I keep noticing in YA literature is how parents fail to understand what is going on in their children's heads. The conflict between Alex and his overprotective mother was quite interesting to read from Alex's point of view, same goes for Daria and Clinton's relations with their respective mothers.
Alex is HIV positive, and as you may know (or not, though you can read my Sunday post (here) if you haven't), he carries the virus but it hasn't completely overtaken his immune system. The book was written in 2005, and it changes from the first wave of YA books written in the 1980s/90s at the early stages of the epidemics. I found it interesting how people's opinion of HIV-positive people differs depending on how the virus was contracted. If it was through a transfusion, it is a tragedy; if it was through drugs or sex it makes the person filthy and they (nearly) deserve their fate.
This story is absolutely beautiful and helps you get inside the head of someone who is HIV positive, as well as someone with Down Syndrome. Alex Flinn's writing is simply perfect. She really gets into the head of these three teenagers and brings us a fascinating story. In very simple words and powerful ideas, we get our own conceptions thrown back at us and we just realise how much more beautiful the world is with all its shades of grey.
I cannot recommend this book enough as it a fascinating YA novel for people wanting to know more about HIV, but also about major issues teenagers encounter such as bullying or the relationship they have with their families.
June 24, 2011
Short little book so short little review. Perhaps this one has something for everyone or not.
Basic plot: Hispanic boy who is HIV positive is injured when a letter-jacket wearing assailant takes a baseball bat to his car (and probably would have done the same to him had he not driven away) which is witnesses by a girl with Down syndrome and blamed on a white football player boy who's been harassing the Hispanic boy about having HIV. Got all that?
The story is told from the various viewpoints, Alex(HIV), Daria(Ds) and Clinton(bully extraordinaire) and I think the different voices works because you get the thoughts and feelings of each of them except that Daria's voice is only bits of free verse, not quite sure what the author is trying to say with that and it bothered me.
There is growth from the characters, well, from the boys and some needed self-awareness from them also.
My one real complaint is that the story feels very dated. It was published in 2005, but the stupidity of Clinton about AIDS reads like mid-eighties or perhaps early nineties. He doesn't want to sit next to Alex or that his sister is friends with Alex's sister and he makes sure Alex knows it, in an anonymous and cowardly way however.
The book has a timeline starting out with a dated police report which has the date, but not year. I thought this was odd as I would think a police report would definitely include the year and it would have grounded the story in a certain time. I don't quite understand that omission. So that brought the story down a bit for me because I hope that people today, school administrators as well as students(and well, everyone) are somewhat better informed about this disease.
I did enjoy the writing style and the character's voices and I'd more than likely read this author again.
Basic plot: Hispanic boy who is HIV positive is injured when a letter-jacket wearing assailant takes a baseball bat to his car (and probably would have done the same to him had he not driven away) which is witnesses by a girl with Down syndrome and blamed on a white football player boy who's been harassing the Hispanic boy about having HIV. Got all that?
The story is told from the various viewpoints, Alex(HIV), Daria(Ds) and Clinton(bully extraordinaire) and I think the different voices works because you get the thoughts and feelings of each of them except that Daria's voice is only bits of free verse, not quite sure what the author is trying to say with that and it bothered me.
There is growth from the characters, well, from the boys and some needed self-awareness from them also.
My one real complaint is that the story feels very dated. It was published in 2005, but the stupidity of Clinton about AIDS reads like mid-eighties or perhaps early nineties. He doesn't want to sit next to Alex or that his sister is friends with Alex's sister and he makes sure Alex knows it, in an anonymous and cowardly way however.
The book has a timeline starting out with a dated police report which has the date, but not year. I thought this was odd as I would think a police report would definitely include the year and it would have grounded the story in a certain time. I don't quite understand that omission. So that brought the story down a bit for me because I hope that people today, school administrators as well as students(and well, everyone) are somewhat better informed about this disease.
I did enjoy the writing style and the character's voices and I'd more than likely read this author again.
January 15, 2009
My 9th graders will love this book. Crisp writing and a simple, poignant plot. Even though there are multiple perspectives (a witness, the victim, and a suspect), my students will find it easy to follow the shifts. I like that it addresses the topic of what it means to be HIV positive in a realm other than the world of homosexuality where my students expect it.
Read
December 14, 2021From what I've read so far this book is about; An HIV-positive high school student that gets hospitalized after being attacked, the person accused of the crime, and the only witness, a classmate with Down Syndrome, reveal how the assault has changed their lives as they tell of its aftermath. The other students at his school don't like to associate with him, because of his disease, they think it is contagious and he has a hard time making friends and living life because of this.
There have been some examples of rhetorical devices so far that I've come across such as alliteration. On one page it says,''No, Clinton, you can't go to class.'' The author also uses some examples of allusion to compare situations in this book to other things from other books or movies. The author also adds in some irony to change the tone of the reading every once in a while, for example the tone will be sad and low, but when the author adds irony it turns the mood up even just for that little bit.
The author has some interesting diction. He constantly uses advanced word choice, while making the story make sense to the audience. Finally, the author uses metaphors. Example,'' He's Joker to my Batman, Green Goblin to my Spidey.'' This book so far has been interesting and very different from most books I've read in my life. I would highly recommend it.
There have been some examples of rhetorical devices so far that I've come across such as alliteration. On one page it says,''No, Clinton, you can't go to class.'' The author also uses some examples of allusion to compare situations in this book to other things from other books or movies. The author also adds in some irony to change the tone of the reading every once in a while, for example the tone will be sad and low, but when the author adds irony it turns the mood up even just for that little bit.
The author has some interesting diction. He constantly uses advanced word choice, while making the story make sense to the audience. Finally, the author uses metaphors. Example,'' He's Joker to my Batman, Green Goblin to my Spidey.'' This book so far has been interesting and very different from most books I've read in my life. I would highly recommend it.
December 18, 2018
The book Fade to Black by Alex Flinn is written in three “characters” perspectives. The main being Alex Flinn who is HIV positive and he goes to a small town school where everyone knows that he has HIV. Alex was in his car when he was attacked by a guy with a baseball bat. The guy shattered his windshield as Alex hid under the steering wheel. But the broken glass still cut alex as it was flying through the air. The only eye witness is a girl named Daria and she has Down Syndrome and believes the attacker was a guy named Clinton Cole. Clinton cole bullies Alex and wants him to leave the school because he has aids but says he did not break the windshield. I thought this was a great book and a great awareness bullying. It would be a great read for just about anyone that likes a good thrill with a good meaning to it.
August 5, 2013
25 April 2005 FADE TO BLACK by Alex Flinn, Harper Tempest, April 2005, ISBN: 0-06-056839-9, LIB ISBN: 0-06-056841-0
One evening later this week Brook Haven Middle School will host its annual Open House. I spent a day in Shari's classroom late last week working hard to clean up the disaster zone in preparation for the occasion.
Shari is the school's drama teacher as well as one of the eighth-grade English teachers. Her drama students are notorious for leaving their thrift store purchased costuming and props in the classroom long after the performances are all complete. I filled four huge cartons to overflowing with those items that we're not likely to need for future productions. They went to the lost and found. A couple of cartons of the "good stuff" went into the prop room.
You would think that an English classroom should have a collection of some decent books in it, but Shari and I sort of go to extremes. Fortunately, I had brought a bunch of paper bags with me. I filled nine of them with old ARCs (advance reader copies) that I no longer cared about owning. A coordinator at juvenile hall will collect them in a couple of days and they'll get a whole new life.
As I collected and neatly stacked the classroom sets of books (SPEAK, THE LAND, THE MISFITS, WITNESS, THE LAST BOOK IN THE UNIVERSE, LEFT FOR DEAD, 19 VARIETIES OF GAZELLE, BRONX MASQUERADE, etc.), and filled those shopping bags for juvenile hall, and filled a shelf in the office with the latest paperback purchases and 2005 ARCs, I also accumulated a very small pile of books to take back home. ("Like coals to Newcastle!" someone knowledgeable of our home might exclaim.) A few were ARCs of books that had gone on to win major awards. A couple were Richie's Picks titles that I wanted to have an extra copy of for booktalks. And I grabbed my copy of MORE THAN WORDS: THE SPEECHES OF MARIO CUOMO, which I used to delve into occasionally for inspiring "patriotic observances."
Two ARCs on that stack for home were literally falling apart. One was Brenda Woods' EMAKO BLUE, which we just bought a new copy of for the classroom. It's been passed nonstop from kid to kid for a year now. The other, which from overuse is now a collection of loose pages nested in a cover, is Alex Flinn's FADE TO BLACK. Finally getting my own chance to read it last night, I had to grip it with two hands so that it wouldn't fall all over the room.
"Night is when I think about dying. That's what I'm doing now, after midnight in the quiet hospital."
It didn't take long to see why Shari's students have been enthusiastically turning each other on to FADE TO BLACK since its arrival in the classroom in January. Central to the story is a hate crime involving a baseball bat and the shattered windows of an occupied automobile. There is a victim, Alex Crusan, a HIV-positive high school student whose family recently moved from Miami to the small town of Pinedale. There is a witness, Daria, a fellow high school student with Down Syndrome. Then there is a football player, also from Pinedale High, Clinton Cole. We learn quickly from Clinton himself that he'd thrown a rock through a window of the Crusan house the night before. Did Clinton also, as Daria tells police, attack Alex's car when Alex was stopped at a red light early on the morning of October 27th?
What Alex Flinn does so well here is to create three realistic and complex teen characters, all of whom have some secrets. She also writes so articulately about the elephant in the room: the continued fear and ignorance in America surrounding HIV and AIDS.
" 'They told us before he came here that you couldn't get sick, just being near him. But I don't believe it for a minute. I mean, what if he cuts himself? He doesn't have those purple, blotchy things you always see on people with AIDS on TV. But still, there's all these molecules and particles and things, junk in the air. And what about dust mites?' I remember once, they told us in science class that dust is all people's skin and junk. Excuse me, but I don't want that guy's skin particles on me."
In an exceptional article, "How a Young Adult Novelist Researches," published in VOYA and accessible online at http://pdfs.voya.com/VO/YA2/VOYA20041... , Alex discusses a 2003 Minnesota AIDS Project study "in which researchers found that 43 percent of those surveyed did not know or were uncertain about whether HIV could be transmitted through a cough or a sneeze, and 38 percent did not know or were uncertain whether it could be transmitted from a toilet seat." Having done her homework, the author creates a consistent tone throughout the book that is revealing of the myths and the reality and how students are affected by them.
"All the days
after,
he said hi
just hi
and I
liked him."
Alex Flinn has been steadily gaining a reputation among adolescents for creating high interest, realistic YA fiction that incorporates issues that matter to them. FADE TO BLACK will continue the spread of that reputation. I've got a dismantled ARC as testimony of that.
Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.com
BudNotBuddy@aol.com
Moderator http://groups.yahoo.com/group/middle_... http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/people/facult...
One evening later this week Brook Haven Middle School will host its annual Open House. I spent a day in Shari's classroom late last week working hard to clean up the disaster zone in preparation for the occasion.
Shari is the school's drama teacher as well as one of the eighth-grade English teachers. Her drama students are notorious for leaving their thrift store purchased costuming and props in the classroom long after the performances are all complete. I filled four huge cartons to overflowing with those items that we're not likely to need for future productions. They went to the lost and found. A couple of cartons of the "good stuff" went into the prop room.
You would think that an English classroom should have a collection of some decent books in it, but Shari and I sort of go to extremes. Fortunately, I had brought a bunch of paper bags with me. I filled nine of them with old ARCs (advance reader copies) that I no longer cared about owning. A coordinator at juvenile hall will collect them in a couple of days and they'll get a whole new life.
As I collected and neatly stacked the classroom sets of books (SPEAK, THE LAND, THE MISFITS, WITNESS, THE LAST BOOK IN THE UNIVERSE, LEFT FOR DEAD, 19 VARIETIES OF GAZELLE, BRONX MASQUERADE, etc.), and filled those shopping bags for juvenile hall, and filled a shelf in the office with the latest paperback purchases and 2005 ARCs, I also accumulated a very small pile of books to take back home. ("Like coals to Newcastle!" someone knowledgeable of our home might exclaim.) A few were ARCs of books that had gone on to win major awards. A couple were Richie's Picks titles that I wanted to have an extra copy of for booktalks. And I grabbed my copy of MORE THAN WORDS: THE SPEECHES OF MARIO CUOMO, which I used to delve into occasionally for inspiring "patriotic observances."
Two ARCs on that stack for home were literally falling apart. One was Brenda Woods' EMAKO BLUE, which we just bought a new copy of for the classroom. It's been passed nonstop from kid to kid for a year now. The other, which from overuse is now a collection of loose pages nested in a cover, is Alex Flinn's FADE TO BLACK. Finally getting my own chance to read it last night, I had to grip it with two hands so that it wouldn't fall all over the room.
"Night is when I think about dying. That's what I'm doing now, after midnight in the quiet hospital."
It didn't take long to see why Shari's students have been enthusiastically turning each other on to FADE TO BLACK since its arrival in the classroom in January. Central to the story is a hate crime involving a baseball bat and the shattered windows of an occupied automobile. There is a victim, Alex Crusan, a HIV-positive high school student whose family recently moved from Miami to the small town of Pinedale. There is a witness, Daria, a fellow high school student with Down Syndrome. Then there is a football player, also from Pinedale High, Clinton Cole. We learn quickly from Clinton himself that he'd thrown a rock through a window of the Crusan house the night before. Did Clinton also, as Daria tells police, attack Alex's car when Alex was stopped at a red light early on the morning of October 27th?
What Alex Flinn does so well here is to create three realistic and complex teen characters, all of whom have some secrets. She also writes so articulately about the elephant in the room: the continued fear and ignorance in America surrounding HIV and AIDS.
" 'They told us before he came here that you couldn't get sick, just being near him. But I don't believe it for a minute. I mean, what if he cuts himself? He doesn't have those purple, blotchy things you always see on people with AIDS on TV. But still, there's all these molecules and particles and things, junk in the air. And what about dust mites?' I remember once, they told us in science class that dust is all people's skin and junk. Excuse me, but I don't want that guy's skin particles on me."
In an exceptional article, "How a Young Adult Novelist Researches," published in VOYA and accessible online at http://pdfs.voya.com/VO/YA2/VOYA20041... , Alex discusses a 2003 Minnesota AIDS Project study "in which researchers found that 43 percent of those surveyed did not know or were uncertain about whether HIV could be transmitted through a cough or a sneeze, and 38 percent did not know or were uncertain whether it could be transmitted from a toilet seat." Having done her homework, the author creates a consistent tone throughout the book that is revealing of the myths and the reality and how students are affected by them.
"All the days
after,
he said hi
just hi
and I
liked him."
Alex Flinn has been steadily gaining a reputation among adolescents for creating high interest, realistic YA fiction that incorporates issues that matter to them. FADE TO BLACK will continue the spread of that reputation. I've got a dismantled ARC as testimony of that.
Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.com
BudNotBuddy@aol.com
Moderator http://groups.yahoo.com/group/middle_... http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/people/facult...
April 17, 2021
While there aren't a lot of young adult books about a HIV-positive teenager, I felt like this one was pretty mediocre. I liked the character of Alex, but there wasn't a lot to this book. Firstly, it was really short, so it wraps up really neatly and I don't think that was very realistic. It was fine overall.
May 16, 2025
I did really like this book because of the story’s, the people, and the drama. I also liked it because of the theme, beginning, ending, pacing, word choice, and it was perfect for my reading level. The only thing wrong with the book is there was a little bit of profanity. This book has taught me to never judge a book by its cover. The appropriate audience for this book is high schoolers.
October 26, 2022
Short story about a boy who contraved HIV and how he is treated badly ay a new school, but it covers so many topics about how many different people are treated. Not a bad book
March 16, 2017
I like and dislike this book. I liked how the mom and aunt took Alex out to see a show. I disliked how Alex had Hiv at a young age. I recommend this book if you like suspense.
March 15, 2012
Fade to Black
By Alex Finn
Reviewed by Alina Oswald
AIDS anxiety and stigma, prejudice, homophobia, harassment and hate crime, guilt and shame, pretense always clutter the truth. Unfortunately, they are all pieces of our reality and we find them in Alex Finn's Young Adult novel, Fade to Black where, the author-a former attorney-invites us to a small town trial where AIDS fills the courtroom.
The victim-Alejandro Crusan, or Alex-is a Florida junior high-school student attacked and hit with a baseball bat while waiting in his car at a traffic light. The reason? ...His HIV-positive status and the belief that he is gay.
The accused-Clinton Cole-sometimes shares the same classroom with Alex. Clinton's existence is a cluster of homophobia, AIDS anxiety, and prejudice.
The witness-Daria-is a Down syndrome girl ignored and bullied by most students.
We find parallels between the three main characters that link them to issues surrounding AIDS: each one of them deals, one way or another, with disabilities-physical or mental; each one of them has a secret that threatens to come out as the story progresses and, consequently, make them unfit for the small town society in which they live. For that not to happen, they have to pretend that they are worth being part of their society.
The verdict-guilty or not guilty-surfaces through alternating testimonies and stories of the three main characters; but for the truth to come out the characters may have to divulge their secrets, because each one has a well-protected secret he or she is afraid to share with the world.
But are the characters of Fade to Black ready for the truth? Maybe the more important question is: are we, the readers, ready to hear the truth and witness life-long hidden secrets we can rely on? The answer waits for us between the pages of Fade to Black. As for the verdict... it goes beyond the covers of this courageous and remarkable book.
This review was originally published in A&U Magazine--America's AIDS Magazine.
By Alex Finn
Reviewed by Alina Oswald
AIDS anxiety and stigma, prejudice, homophobia, harassment and hate crime, guilt and shame, pretense always clutter the truth. Unfortunately, they are all pieces of our reality and we find them in Alex Finn's Young Adult novel, Fade to Black where, the author-a former attorney-invites us to a small town trial where AIDS fills the courtroom.
The victim-Alejandro Crusan, or Alex-is a Florida junior high-school student attacked and hit with a baseball bat while waiting in his car at a traffic light. The reason? ...His HIV-positive status and the belief that he is gay.
The accused-Clinton Cole-sometimes shares the same classroom with Alex. Clinton's existence is a cluster of homophobia, AIDS anxiety, and prejudice.
The witness-Daria-is a Down syndrome girl ignored and bullied by most students.
We find parallels between the three main characters that link them to issues surrounding AIDS: each one of them deals, one way or another, with disabilities-physical or mental; each one of them has a secret that threatens to come out as the story progresses and, consequently, make them unfit for the small town society in which they live. For that not to happen, they have to pretend that they are worth being part of their society.
The verdict-guilty or not guilty-surfaces through alternating testimonies and stories of the three main characters; but for the truth to come out the characters may have to divulge their secrets, because each one has a well-protected secret he or she is afraid to share with the world.
But are the characters of Fade to Black ready for the truth? Maybe the more important question is: are we, the readers, ready to hear the truth and witness life-long hidden secrets we can rely on? The answer waits for us between the pages of Fade to Black. As for the verdict... it goes beyond the covers of this courageous and remarkable book.
This review was originally published in A&U Magazine--America's AIDS Magazine.
December 16, 2009
I loved this. I think Alex Flinn is an amazing writer. I've read four of her books now and each one is so unique and so well written. What I loved about this story was the suspense and that there really was a lot of character development that made this hard to put down.
Alex is the character you like and feel bad for. He's got HIV and the whole school knows, so they treat him like a total outcast. I had a hard time imagining that a school would really tell its entire student body that a kid is HIV-positive (I know my school keeps it super under wraps) but given the setting, I suppose it could happen. That was the only plot stretch. Everything else was very realistic. Clinton Cole is the antagonist -- the kid who is accused of attacking Alex. He's very up front about not liking Alex and wishing he would go away, but you're left wondering whether or not he'd actually go this far. Then there's Daria, the Downs Syndrome student, who is a witness to what happened. It's fascinating to read her sections because they are so short and I kept wanting to know more but I think Flinn did a great job of illustrating Daria's thought process.
The book has depth, complexity, excellent character development, and has a very human appeal to it. The question of what does it mean to have HIV and be in high school is a very interesting one. Alex doesn't really know how to deal and how to "act normal," as his doctors keep saying. He can't really date. People think he's a leper. But, really, he's a regular 17-year-old kid.
And I like that Flinn leaves even the more Clinton-like readers with the message that HIV is not contagious and people with HIV should be treated with respect. I know that a LOT of teens need to hear this. It sounds like a given to many of us but there's a ridiculous amount of misinformation on the topic still. We need more books like this.
As you can tell, this really resonated with me. :) I love Alex Flinn. I want her to write realistic fiction.
Alex is the character you like and feel bad for. He's got HIV and the whole school knows, so they treat him like a total outcast. I had a hard time imagining that a school would really tell its entire student body that a kid is HIV-positive (I know my school keeps it super under wraps) but given the setting, I suppose it could happen. That was the only plot stretch. Everything else was very realistic. Clinton Cole is the antagonist -- the kid who is accused of attacking Alex. He's very up front about not liking Alex and wishing he would go away, but you're left wondering whether or not he'd actually go this far. Then there's Daria, the Downs Syndrome student, who is a witness to what happened. It's fascinating to read her sections because they are so short and I kept wanting to know more but I think Flinn did a great job of illustrating Daria's thought process.
The book has depth, complexity, excellent character development, and has a very human appeal to it. The question of what does it mean to have HIV and be in high school is a very interesting one. Alex doesn't really know how to deal and how to "act normal," as his doctors keep saying. He can't really date. People think he's a leper. But, really, he's a regular 17-year-old kid.
And I like that Flinn leaves even the more Clinton-like readers with the message that HIV is not contagious and people with HIV should be treated with respect. I know that a LOT of teens need to hear this. It sounds like a given to many of us but there's a ridiculous amount of misinformation on the topic still. We need more books like this.
As you can tell, this really resonated with me. :) I love Alex Flinn. I want her to write realistic fiction.
March 12, 2014
When I first saw this book floating around on the internet I was immediately interested.A YA story about AIDS? Maybe I've been looking in the wrong places but I haven't found YA with AIDS and since my knowledge of it is basically that according to my school if I do drugs,have sex,go to parties,have friends that go to parties,or anything along those lines I'll probably catch it and die.It's the abstinence bogeyman to be whipped out whenever we teens may think of breaking our true Christian values(because religious variety means including Protestants and Baptist)
Anyway my actual knowledge of AIDs was very limited so I picked this book up thinking I could learn something, be entertained and if I'm honest be swamped in feels because I was in a reading slump .
That didn't happen.Instead I was beaten over the head with morals and positive messages. This story had potential but lost all of it with amateurish writing,mouthpiece bland characters, and its mad dash to cram as many positive messages as it could sadly.
Anyway my actual knowledge of AIDs was very limited so I picked this book up thinking I could learn something, be entertained and if I'm honest be swamped in feels because I was in a reading slump .
That didn't happen.Instead I was beaten over the head with morals and positive messages. This story had potential but lost all of it with amateurish writing,mouthpiece bland characters, and its mad dash to cram as many positive messages as it could sadly.
December 27, 2007
Perhaps no author since Robert Cormier, or Michael Cadnum in his early works, has dealt head on like Flinn with the violence in the lives of teens. Three teens tell the story of a violent hate crime: Clinton, Daria, and Alex. The victim, Alex is the new kid in school, but outcast due to his HIV status. The suspect, Clinton, has earned his homophobic stripes with past deeds and words, but Flinn develops him as a real person, not a stereotype, so the case isn't as clear cut as it seems. But it is with the witness Daria that Flinn takes a huge risk as writer both in terms of character and style. Daria is a special education student and tells her story in free verse. Yet none of the three narrators is entirely trustworthy, for various reasons, and there's more than one mystery to be solved.
January 22, 2016
The book I read was Fade to Black by Alex Flinn is about three very different characters that are connected to a crime in some way. The teenagers that go to Pinedale High School in Florida. are Alex, Clinton, and Daria. Alex is HIV positive student who is the victim to a crime involving a bat and his car. Clinton is the suspect who everyone thinks did it. Daria is a down syndrome girl who likes Alex and thinks she saw the person you committed the crime. Alex and Clinton never got along and both have problems in their family. They all seem like realistic characters, but it would be rare to find a case like theirs all together in one place. Fade to Black is still a good story and i would recommend it to friends.
August 7, 2008
I love Alex Flinn's books- they are suspenseful in their treatment of teen life....there is an HIV postive teen who is attacked with a bat in his car and there are 3 different viewpoints about what happened and who did it- it was the author's interest in witness reliability that prompted this book....her characters, their families, school and social scene are dead on---reluctant readers will love this.
January 25, 2010
Young man HIV positive unprotected sex w/female.
Town prejudices and fear.
Family and friendship.
Very well written for 1st time author.
Town prejudices and fear.
Family and friendship.
Very well written for 1st time author.
March 25, 2020
Fade to Black
For Alejandro “Alex” Crusan, life is already hard enough being a minority in Pinedale Senior High School, but being HIV positive poses an even harder battle for a soft-spoken teenager at a new school. However, Alex’s struggles soon become more burdensome when his car windshield is smashed with a baseball bat and he is knocked unconscious. Alex is hospitalized and the lone lingering question remains- who’s responsible for such a heinous crime? Fortunately for Alex and his family, there is a witness, Daria Bickell, a down-syndrome student at Alex’s high school. She claims to have seen Clinton Cole at the crime scene holding a bat and later proceeding to smash in Alex’s car windshield. Clinton Cole doesn’t shy away from admitting he was in the vicinity of the crime scene on October 27 as well as his revulsion for Alex, but he maintains his innocence throughout the story claiming he’d never go as far as to commit such a despicable act. Fade to Black is a mystery novel written by Alex Flinn and told from 3 different perspectives: Alex who’s HIV positive, Daria who has Down Syndrome, and Clinton who’s a bigoted self-entitled imbecile that’s surprisingly intriguing.
Fade to Black is a unique book with an interesting choice of point-of-view, that being told from three perspectives rather than only one. The plot becomes progressively more revealing as it dives deeper into the minds, feelings, and past of each character. Though the characters are all different, each one of them deals with a problem and they all possess a different secret that threatens to come out. The book does an exceptional job of portraying how contrasting and complicated truth can be and the process to achieve it. A recurring theme that I appreciated was bullying and rejection. Similarly to the modern world, Alex and Daria are outcasts in the minds of their classmates. Their conditions set them apart from the others around them and they are misunderstood and state that they feel invisible. Students such as Clinton Cole requested to be moved away from Alex because Clinton was afraid he would contract HIV. Conceited girls would laugh and insult Daria and claim that she’s “too mentally retarded” to understand what was happening, though she always was aware and often times would have to pretend not to notice their insults. Though Daria’s thoughts are written in free-verse, the reader is able to understand the pain that she goes through and her desire to be normal like the other girls around her. Alex Flynn manages to combine aspects of HIV anxiety and stigma, prejudice, homophobia, harassment, and guilt and shame into one book. She truly captures the reality of the world we live in and the struggles people are tasked with each and every day.
Overall, Fade to Black was an incredible read with a remarkable plot and a stunning progression of characters. I would recommend this to any teenager who wants to read a book containing real-world problems and who wants to be entwined into a quality mystery with surprises and twists. I enjoyed how life-like the characters felt and how relatable they were and I think they were characterized well. I’d recommend it to others because Alex Flynn is able to make a fantasy story feel unequivocally real and her writing has stuck with me in a way no other author has. It has undoubtedly changed the way I see the world and makes me rethink how my actions and words affect others.
For Alejandro “Alex” Crusan, life is already hard enough being a minority in Pinedale Senior High School, but being HIV positive poses an even harder battle for a soft-spoken teenager at a new school. However, Alex’s struggles soon become more burdensome when his car windshield is smashed with a baseball bat and he is knocked unconscious. Alex is hospitalized and the lone lingering question remains- who’s responsible for such a heinous crime? Fortunately for Alex and his family, there is a witness, Daria Bickell, a down-syndrome student at Alex’s high school. She claims to have seen Clinton Cole at the crime scene holding a bat and later proceeding to smash in Alex’s car windshield. Clinton Cole doesn’t shy away from admitting he was in the vicinity of the crime scene on October 27 as well as his revulsion for Alex, but he maintains his innocence throughout the story claiming he’d never go as far as to commit such a despicable act. Fade to Black is a mystery novel written by Alex Flinn and told from 3 different perspectives: Alex who’s HIV positive, Daria who has Down Syndrome, and Clinton who’s a bigoted self-entitled imbecile that’s surprisingly intriguing.
Fade to Black is a unique book with an interesting choice of point-of-view, that being told from three perspectives rather than only one. The plot becomes progressively more revealing as it dives deeper into the minds, feelings, and past of each character. Though the characters are all different, each one of them deals with a problem and they all possess a different secret that threatens to come out. The book does an exceptional job of portraying how contrasting and complicated truth can be and the process to achieve it. A recurring theme that I appreciated was bullying and rejection. Similarly to the modern world, Alex and Daria are outcasts in the minds of their classmates. Their conditions set them apart from the others around them and they are misunderstood and state that they feel invisible. Students such as Clinton Cole requested to be moved away from Alex because Clinton was afraid he would contract HIV. Conceited girls would laugh and insult Daria and claim that she’s “too mentally retarded” to understand what was happening, though she always was aware and often times would have to pretend not to notice their insults. Though Daria’s thoughts are written in free-verse, the reader is able to understand the pain that she goes through and her desire to be normal like the other girls around her. Alex Flynn manages to combine aspects of HIV anxiety and stigma, prejudice, homophobia, harassment, and guilt and shame into one book. She truly captures the reality of the world we live in and the struggles people are tasked with each and every day.
Overall, Fade to Black was an incredible read with a remarkable plot and a stunning progression of characters. I would recommend this to any teenager who wants to read a book containing real-world problems and who wants to be entwined into a quality mystery with surprises and twists. I enjoyed how life-like the characters felt and how relatable they were and I think they were characterized well. I’d recommend it to others because Alex Flynn is able to make a fantasy story feel unequivocally real and her writing has stuck with me in a way no other author has. It has undoubtedly changed the way I see the world and makes me rethink how my actions and words affect others.
February 18, 2018
It's probably not fair of me to write a review of this book after this read. I really didn't enjoy this book much, but it could be because I'm sick and felt miserable the whole time I read it. So... I guess keep that in mind as you read this review.
Strengths of this book:
1. Includes a main character who is both a minority (Hispanic, I assume, but couldn't find evidence anywhere?) and HIV positive.
2. It jumps right into the action.
3. It is an easy, quick read.
4. It fills a huge void in YA literature - books about characters with HIV and their experience.
My issues with the book:
1. I struggle with the character of Daria. In my opinion, she just doesn't add that much to the story. Yes, she was a witness, but her testimony is only a small part of the plot, and the resolution would have been the same without her. She seems like a token "disabled" person. And WHY were her chapters written in verse? Frankly, her chapters just pulled me out of the story.
2. The resolution of the case happens rather abruptly and without much explanation. Maybe the case isn't really the point of the book. Maybe the point is really the growth of Clinton and Alex - which is actually handled pretty well - but still, it would have been nice to have a little bit more information about the solving of the crime.
Overall, this book was fine. It has a lot more telling than showing, which I don't prefer, but that probably makes it more appealing to a segment of the teen readership, so that's positive. Also, it would be an excellent book to place in the hands of boys to begin discussions about respect and tolerance. (Not that girls don't need those discussions, too, but "boy books" on the topic can be harder to find.)
Strengths of this book:
1. Includes a main character who is both a minority (Hispanic, I assume, but couldn't find evidence anywhere?) and HIV positive.
2. It jumps right into the action.
3. It is an easy, quick read.
4. It fills a huge void in YA literature - books about characters with HIV and their experience.
My issues with the book:
1. I struggle with the character of Daria. In my opinion, she just doesn't add that much to the story. Yes, she was a witness, but her testimony is only a small part of the plot, and the resolution would have been the same without her. She seems like a token "disabled" person. And WHY were her chapters written in verse? Frankly, her chapters just pulled me out of the story.
2. The resolution of the case happens rather abruptly and without much explanation. Maybe the case isn't really the point of the book. Maybe the point is really the growth of Clinton and Alex - which is actually handled pretty well - but still, it would have been nice to have a little bit more information about the solving of the crime.
Overall, this book was fine. It has a lot more telling than showing, which I don't prefer, but that probably makes it more appealing to a segment of the teen readership, so that's positive. Also, it would be an excellent book to place in the hands of boys to begin discussions about respect and tolerance. (Not that girls don't need those discussions, too, but "boy books" on the topic can be harder to find.)
January 25, 2017
I enjoyed reading this book. The story is about a teen named Alex who was recently attacked while sitting in his car. Alex in hospital and, because he has AIDS the crime is being investigated as a hate crime. The main suspect is Clinton Cole, who has been known to bully Alex at school. The novel is written from both Alex and Clinton's perspective and goes deeper into both of their lives, including their relationships with their parents, peers, and each other, as well as how Alex feels about his terminal disease.
I think this book was written well. I enjoyed the way the author made both characters relatable and also someone you can feel bad for. Both characters seemed lifelike and seemed to characterized well, both physically and mentally. book discussed themes of life as a teenager and what it is like having AIDS. The author does a really good job of making you realize what it would be like in Alex's shoes. The book wasn't too fast or too slow, and it made you want to keep reading. The mood wasn't too depressing even though the book deals with sad subjects and was even a little funny at times. I did think however, that the dialogue wasn't very good, especially with Clinton who sometimes said things I didn't think a teenager would actually say, such as "stinking" and "darn". I also enjoyed the slight twist towards the end of the novel, regarding Alex and his disease. Overall, I think the book was good and I would suggest it to a friend.
I think this book was written well. I enjoyed the way the author made both characters relatable and also someone you can feel bad for. Both characters seemed lifelike and seemed to characterized well, both physically and mentally. book discussed themes of life as a teenager and what it is like having AIDS. The author does a really good job of making you realize what it would be like in Alex's shoes. The book wasn't too fast or too slow, and it made you want to keep reading. The mood wasn't too depressing even though the book deals with sad subjects and was even a little funny at times. I did think however, that the dialogue wasn't very good, especially with Clinton who sometimes said things I didn't think a teenager would actually say, such as "stinking" and "darn". I also enjoyed the slight twist towards the end of the novel, regarding Alex and his disease. Overall, I think the book was good and I would suggest it to a friend.
February 16, 2018
Cody Maierhoffer
2nd hour
Ms.Smith
Book Review
Fade to Black
Fade to Black by Alex Flinn is realistic fiction. This is realistic fiction which draws more people to the book because it's a true and possible to happen thing and this book follows 100 percent of that because HIV is a very causable disease although Alex Crusan is figuring out whether he wants to tell people how it happened or not. This book was an incredible reading and great book with excellent information but just didn't catch my attention enough. Although this book did not interest me to the point where I was addicted to reading it more and more.It was about HIV and a kid who was affected by it and seen completely different as a person and he didn't want to be. Alex Crusan was affected by HIV positive and it changed his life he was not only affected at home with family but the uncontrollable disease affected his school life and his whole life in general. Although he did have some pretty amazing friends that stuck by his side through thick and thin they still made his life hard to deal with. He was like the control of his group of friends and when he found he was affected all his friends were fighting and taking things out of hands and making his life worse because the fighting caused him stress because he always thought it was his fault. Since the day he was affected he's been living in hell and stress. This book had little spots of imagery but for the most part it was mostly dialogue. I would suggest this to someone whose in 9th or up because it does include a little bit of cussing this book would be more of a guy reading cause there's not to much in there girls might like. Especially definitely someone who has the disease because they can understand Alex’s coping skills and maybe learn from it and make him a better person and have more of a personality.
2nd hour
Ms.Smith
Book Review
Fade to Black
Fade to Black by Alex Flinn is realistic fiction. This is realistic fiction which draws more people to the book because it's a true and possible to happen thing and this book follows 100 percent of that because HIV is a very causable disease although Alex Crusan is figuring out whether he wants to tell people how it happened or not. This book was an incredible reading and great book with excellent information but just didn't catch my attention enough. Although this book did not interest me to the point where I was addicted to reading it more and more.It was about HIV and a kid who was affected by it and seen completely different as a person and he didn't want to be. Alex Crusan was affected by HIV positive and it changed his life he was not only affected at home with family but the uncontrollable disease affected his school life and his whole life in general. Although he did have some pretty amazing friends that stuck by his side through thick and thin they still made his life hard to deal with. He was like the control of his group of friends and when he found he was affected all his friends were fighting and taking things out of hands and making his life worse because the fighting caused him stress because he always thought it was his fault. Since the day he was affected he's been living in hell and stress. This book had little spots of imagery but for the most part it was mostly dialogue. I would suggest this to someone whose in 9th or up because it does include a little bit of cussing this book would be more of a guy reading cause there's not to much in there girls might like. Especially definitely someone who has the disease because they can understand Alex’s coping skills and maybe learn from it and make him a better person and have more of a personality.
January 9, 2020
This story was written by Alex Flinn in 2005. This book is a boy that is diagnosed with HIV- positive. Therefore no one comes close to him at school and he's avoided by everyone in the halls and school in general. This story takes place in south miama Florida. His parents are divorced and he doesn't get to see his father because he lives way out of town and his mother never wants to drive there nor see him. The only way he can talk to his father over the phone and he doesn't get much time to talk on the phone with him.
The main conflict in the book is when Alex is driving to school from Dunkin donuts in his new car by himself. He pulls over to a roadblock thinking he's all alone until someone comes up with a baseball bat and hit the passenger's side window. Glass is everywhere. Alex wakes up in the hospital with his mother next to him.
I recommend this book to people that like action. The reason is that the book is filled with action and it was hard to set down. But overall it is a very well written book. It is easy to follow along. Overall I enjoyed this book. There were some slow parts but they go quick.
The main conflict in the book is when Alex is driving to school from Dunkin donuts in his new car by himself. He pulls over to a roadblock thinking he's all alone until someone comes up with a baseball bat and hit the passenger's side window. Glass is everywhere. Alex wakes up in the hospital with his mother next to him.
I recommend this book to people that like action. The reason is that the book is filled with action and it was hard to set down. But overall it is a very well written book. It is easy to follow along. Overall I enjoyed this book. There were some slow parts but they go quick.
October 17, 2021
Fade to Black was a very cool book because of its layout. The story is made up of three perspectives and a crime. This made you want to listen and kept me reading. The three characters that were the focus was Alex, Clinton, and Dalia. In other words, victim, suspect, and witness. When having three characters, you get to grow with them during the reading experience. The books insight shines a light on health struggles as well as crime. Alex is constantly bullied and excluded because he has HIV/AIDS and people think that it’s contagious. Clinton has a mean persona and hasn’t shown Alex any respect which is partially why he is in the hot seat (suspect). Over all this book has everything.
June 12, 2017
The book 'Fade to Black' is a 'who did it' novel, that will leave you wanting to read more, and wondering more. Each chapter will reveal something new, and different that will lead you closer and closer to the criminal, and the victim. The perspective change in every chapter will give the truth about each of the characters, and how they live their lives. Each have a story, but are they all correct? Each has a struggle, but who suffers the most?
I have enjoyed reading this novel and also enjoyed revealing the truth about the characters. I feel that the rating I gave this book was appropriate, because of the change and tone of the setting. You will feel an attachment to the characters in this book, and your opinion of them could be changed by a single sentence, or action. I think that one of the themes of this book is not to judge a book by it's cover.
I have enjoyed reading this novel and also enjoyed revealing the truth about the characters. I feel that the rating I gave this book was appropriate, because of the change and tone of the setting. You will feel an attachment to the characters in this book, and your opinion of them could be changed by a single sentence, or action. I think that one of the themes of this book is not to judge a book by it's cover.
April 13, 2018
at first I had my doubts about reading some teenagers novel. BUT Alex Flinn's Writing AMAZING skills just forced me to keep reading.
I Did love the story so much, I Couldn't put the book down. but then at the end in the last 3 chapters I think they needed more Details & Explaining, like *Why did Davis McNeill Attack Alex? what does Alex have do with McNeill's Breakup?* If anyone Knows just tell me in a comment.
BUT the story was Amazing , it kept me in a Mystery , so Badly want to know who attacked Alex.
I Did love the story so much, I Couldn't put the book down. but then at the end in the last 3 chapters I think they needed more Details & Explaining, like *Why did Davis McNeill Attack Alex? what does Alex have do with McNeill's Breakup?* If anyone Knows just tell me in a comment.
BUT the story was Amazing , it kept me in a Mystery , so Badly want to know who attacked Alex.
May 17, 2020
Thank you audible for allowing free streaming during the pandemic.
I really expected much less from this book based on the reviews it had received. But after reading it I felt that there was no reason not to enjoy it. Some of the writing was a little awkward it felt a little immature, but ultimately the story was good. I think there was a teacher that should have been punished that wasn't, but I guess that's how life goes to. People who are jerks can be in any status or calling in life
I really expected much less from this book based on the reviews it had received. But after reading it I felt that there was no reason not to enjoy it. Some of the writing was a little awkward it felt a little immature, but ultimately the story was good. I think there was a teacher that should have been punished that wasn't, but I guess that's how life goes to. People who are jerks can be in any status or calling in life
August 29, 2017
THIS BOOK WAS NOT MUCH ABOUT CRIME OR CRIME SOLVING IT WAS A LOT ABOUT 3 PEOPLE REFLECTING ON THEIR PAST AND CHANGING THEIR WAYS ALL BECAUSE OF ONE EVENT. OVERALL IT WAS A PRETTY GOOD BOOK AND ENJOYED READING IT
April 19, 2020
Reading Alex Flinn's work has become a bit of novelty for me. It's never as satisfying as I want it to be. But I'm hypnotized all the same. It's just such a different experience from all of the other books I've read. Not better or worse. Just different. And I think that's kinda special.
June 12, 2017
Alex, an HIV+ student, is attacked; Clinton is the most likely suspect
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