Mac

by John MacLean

Mac had everything going for him: good grades, a position on the high school soccer team, friends, a supportive family, and Jenny.

But now things are different. Suddenly, Mac has lost his sense of humor and his tolerance for his funny, loving family. He's avoiding Jenny, throwing sucker punches at friends, and flunking classes. He can't seem to find anything good anymore—about his days, about the people around him, or about himself.

Everyone is concerned and Mac is referred to Mrs. Resnick, a school counselor. It is Mrs. Resnick who, in a style all her own, finally unravels the mystery behind the bewildering and frightening change in Mac's personality.

"I can see something or somebody's really hurt you, Mac," she says.

"I don't want to talk about this."

"About being hurt?"

"I said, I don't want to talk about it."

John Maclean's story is about a complex and very real adolescent. Mac's voice is a haunting one, and readers will grow to care deeply as they watch him stumble through his days, blinded by a rage and a pain that he cannot, or will not, name.

Genres: Young Adult, Abuse, Fiction

175 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1987

Reviews

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

This presents a before and after look at one teen boy, Mac, who is molested by his doctor. That might be a spoiler of sorts, because mostly the book about his behavior - in the Before, he is interested in a girl and spends time baby-sitting his little brothers, and in the After, you see him punching his best friend, growing distant from his girlfriend, and being mean to his brothers. The mystery is what happened to change this...

I have read both the hardcover and paperback versions of this novel, and I've read this book more than three times. I'm not sure why I liked it so much as a teen (I have not re-read as an adult). I liked Mac as a narrator, and I grew to like him in the first half and so I had concern for him in the second half of the book. Maybe I had a thing for troubled boys, as I also really liked and often re-read the book A Solitary Blue by Cynthia Voigt.

[Alma · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Mac” is a bit dated with some of its technological and current events references but its storyline, unfortunately, will never get old. Mac was a normal 14 year old boy, bantering with his friends at lunch, struggling with what to say and how to act around his first real girlfriend, and enjoying his position as goalie for the school’s soccer team and being a member of the ski team.

Read the rest of my review on my blog. Don't forget to enter your email to follow my blog, so you can get entire reviews in your inbox: http://shouldireaditornot.wordpress.c...

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just as Mac starts a relationship with Jenny, something happens that changes everything. Mac suddenly becomes angry and obnoxious with his friends, distant from Jenny and his parents. He finds himself thrown into counseling. Slowly, Mrs. Resnick breaks through to discover that a doctor performing a "routine physical" has sexually molested Mac, leaving him feeling guilty, ashamed and frightened.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one that I have read several times. The way the story is done is really interesting.

[Kate Bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I still remember this from when I was at senior school - maybe around 14-15 and I am 47 now!
I am actually trying to track down a copy