The Accident

by Todd Strasser

Everyone's been drinking. When Bobby invites Matt to drive to a ski house, Matt refuses. A fatal accident ensues and Chris, who has a reputation for drinking and dealing drugs, is immediately blamed. However, Matt is convinced there is unseen aspect of the accident, and he is determined to expose it. Strasser conveys significant messages. His depiction of the teens and the accident is realistic and unsensational.-School Library Journal

Genres: Young Adult, Mystery, Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Suspense

178 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Todd Strasser is an American author of more than 130 novels for adults, young-adults, and middle graders.

His most recent novel is Summer of '69

Booklist review: "Drugs, sex, and rock 'n' roll, those hallmarks of the summer of 1969, are all here, but there's so much more. In this loosely autobiographical novel, Strasser introduces 18-year-old Lucas, who is bright and sensitive but also a screw up…. The picture painted of the Woodstock music festival shows the dark side of peace and love, and the prevalence of drugs is on almost every page…The best part of the book, however, is the one that transcends eras: Lucas' introspection as he contemplates his place in the world."

Kirkus review: "Strasser perfectly captures the golden haze of youth and life on the cusp of adulthood. Readers fascinated with this time period will find much to enjoy... Vietnam, Woodstock, road trips, and acid trips: a sweetly bittersweet, surprising, even melancholy bildungsroman set against a world in flux. Groovy, man."

His most recent young adult novel is Price of Duty:
2018 New York Public Library Best Book for Teens
“Compact and suspenseful, the novel raises important questions about war.” – Kirkus 
“This thought-provoking book is both welcome and imperative.” – Booklist * (starred review).
"Rather than attempting to sway the reader, it offers awareness." - VOYA 
“Tightly wound and compelling ... appropriate for an older middle school and high school audience. VERDICT: Highly recommended.” – School Library Journal 

Bio: Todd was born in New York City. When he was young his parents moved to Roslyn Heights, New York (Long Island). Todd went to the I.U. Willets Elementary school and then attended the Wheatley School for junior high and high school. His best subjects were math and science. He also liked to read, but he had trouble with spelling and grammar, and didn't do well in English. His favorite sports were tennis, skiing and fishing. Todd went to college at New York University for a few years, and then dropped out. He lived on a commune, then lived in Europe where he was a street musician.

All the while, Todd wrote songs and poems and lots of letters to his friends back home. Finally he decided to try being a writer. He returned to the United States and went to Beloit College where he studied literature and writing.

After college, Todd worked at the Middletown Times Herald-Record newspaper in Middletown, New York, and later at Compton Advertising in New York City. In 1978, Todd sold his first novel, Angel Dust Blues. He used the money to start the Dr. Wing Tip Shoo fortune cookie company. For the next 12 years, Todd sold more fortune cookies than books.

Todd now divides his time between writing books and speaking at schools and conferences. When he's at home, he likes to spend time with his children and dog, Cooper. He still likes to play tennis and ski, but his favorite new sport is surfing.

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly effective YA thriller from the late 80s. Politics, secrets, intrigue, and a real a-hole of a swim coach, blend together for a very adult story (at least for the time period in the YA world) about the aftermath of a fatal drunk driving incident and it’s ripple effects through a small town.

[Jade · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book "The Accident" is a book of mystery and suspense that will have anyone reading it always anticipating what is going to happen next. It is a life lesson for the six kids that had been drinking that night. Four are dead, one survives, and the other never got in the car. Now the only one who was in the car that would know what really happened is Jason, and he won't talk. Now everything is a mystery and Matt wants to figure it out. No one will talk, except Lee Washington, who only gives him bits and pieces. Matt has to discover the truth all by himself. I'd recommend this book for anyone who likes to read a good mystery or likes not knowing what is going to happen next. I really enjoyed this book and it the message I think it gives. I think it will make some people stop and rethink the real importance of not drinking and driving. This story is reality and it almost puts you in their shoes. I think anyone that reads this book will really enjoy it, and I hope they do as much as I did.

[Madison Harman · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading this book I came to really enjoy it. The author keeps your attention the whole way through the book. He slowly adds clues that make you wonder what is going to happen next. I really liked who the author gave little clues along the way that helped Matt figure out a little piece of the mystery at a time. It was almost as if you were in Matt's shoes trying to figure out the mystery yourself. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to read suspensful stories or any story that keeps you on edge. I think it will really make anyone who reads it really think about what can happen if you drink and drive. And if you are faced with that decsision it will make you rethink about it again. Overall I really liked this book and I'm very glad that I got to read it for my project. It was really fun to do a project on and I reccomend this book for anyone. I think even the people who don't enjoy reading much would still really enjoy this book.

[Soma Kar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book by Todd Strasser when I first read it about two decades ago. Last month, I re-read this, trying to compare the present-day YA mystery thrillers with the ones from the bygone times. I am glad I did. This book was considered an adult story during its time. It dealt with the mystery surrounding a fatal crash due to drink-driving that killed four teens, two boys, and two girls. Only one teen, Jason Ellis survived, but he won't talk about the crash. Matt the protagonist lost his best friend, Bobby, a boy from an influential and wealthy family, and another good friend, Chris (he uses drugs) who had been blamed all his life for everything bad that happened. Throughout the book, Matt tries to find out what led to the crash and who is responsible for the accident. The end is extraordinary. Just brilliant. I think the characters of the two girls Randy and Susie got wasted as they were brought and killed straightaway. I would have loved to see these characters develop first before dying. Overall, it was a great read! I can recommend this book to anyone.

[Aurora Dimitre · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an issue book, but it wasn't an Issue Book--which surprised me, because it was setting up to be the latter. But it ended up being a lot more nuanced than I was expecting? I dunno man, it was weird.

I liked the characters, I was angry for Chris and I have a predisposition to like the name Jason right now so even though he was questionable I liked him too. I was honestly shocked that this was like, good. It surprised me. It was readable, which I was expecting, but it wasn't just the slapdash mess of words that late 20th century teen paperbacks usually are, so that was. Interesting. And good. I mean, that was definitely good.

[Autumn Plikerd · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book, but really sad.

[Kinz · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've known Todd Strasser to be a great author. Give a Boy a Gun scared me half to death. Boot Camp was amazing; I'd never imagined that there were places like that. Can't Get There From Here was a great look at homeless kids, and my heart broke for the main character over and over again.

But this one? The Accident?

I didn't find it very good at all.

There's little to no character development, which makes it really hard to relate to the story. Usually when characters die, my stomach drops to my feet. Even if I don't feel bad for the dead character, I feel horrible for those left behind. But when Bobby, Chris, and the two girls got into the car accident, I felt nothing. Nothing at all.

As for the mystery that Matt keeps trying to uncover, there's nothing, nothing at all, interesting about the end result. Bobby, the good kid, was driving. Chris, the drug dealer, was not. They covered up Bobby's death so that Bobby's uncle could become governor. After such a huge build-up, the answer to the mystery was really disappointing.

A lot of times, Todd Strasser writes books for a reason. Can't Get There From Here, Give a Boy a Gun, and If I Grow Up all focus on serious problems among the youth of America. Was this book supposed to mean anything at all? If it did, all I can figure out is that it meant people will do anything for politics. That could have potentially been a good lesson, but nothing played with my emotions in this book. Nothing affected me at all. If that was the lesson supposed to be learned, it was very poorly portrayed.

Karen and Matt were very two dimensional. They bugged me for some reason. Most of the characters did.

All in all, I wouldn't recommend this book, especially if you've never read a Todd Strasser book before. Don't let this novel cloud your judgment of such an amazing author.

[Stella Thress · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a group of people are at a party and there drinking but Matt gets in a accident and isn't seen, everyone wonders what happened. Ski wonders if it's her fault that made him get in a accident. This book is a good mystery book

[Megan Bain · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book to be very well written. The author kept my attention the whole time. Although at first i didnt really like it because it was slow starting out. He builds up the supense by not giving every detail and having Matt wanting to find out everything that happened and why people arent telling him the full story. The kids that were killed the night of "the Accident" were Chris, Bobby, Robert, and Susie. The only survior was Jason. He got out with a few minor scratchs and cuts. With everything that happened the only man talking was Lee Washington; a cop that could only explain a few things to Matt but not in detail. And since everyone was going to behind Matt and not telling him what had happened he was getting curious and it lead him to want to figure this mystery out on his own. But for the most part this book kept me interested and i was always finding myself wanting to read more about it. I do recommend this book to many kids that like reading supenful stories. I hope everyone enjoys because i know i did.

[Mackenzie Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book "The Accident" was a very good book in my opinion. At first i wasn't really into it because it was boring and i didn't think it made since. Then when it got to the point where it explained all the characters and what was going on i liked it more. Getting to the middle of the book i didn't want to stop reading because it was getting more and more interesting. After Lee Washington went around talking to all the kids who were at the party, something seemed suspicious. Matt also thought that there was something behind the whole 'accident'. Lee kept giving him little clues. Matt wanted to find out what happened that night, and he was determined to do it. I didn't think i was gonna like this book at all, but when it started talking about the accident then it kept me interested. I do recommend this book for people who like books that keep you on the 'edge'. It was a great book.

[Kami · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought "The Accident" was a good book. I wasn't expecting the ending though. I thought Jason would've been the bad guy, but he really was just after a friend. Before I got to the end of the book, I had figured out that Bobby was really the one driving the car. One thing I never did figure out, and was never really revealed, was who gave Matt the Blood Alcohol Concentrations. Looking back on it, I think that Officer Lee Washington might have been the one who gave them to him since he wanted Matt to figure out who it really was. The message in the story is even clear. It seems like the author of this story really lived in a situation almost like this where someone close to him died in an alcohol related accident. I have to admit, I'm not much of a reader, but I did enjoy this book.

[Noah Kraus · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was great, like most Todd Strasser books are. The only thing that wasn't great, is that it didn't say what Bobby was trying to figure out, it said nothing about a mystery or why what happened was being kept a secret. The detail was great, but I also wish he would have explained more about Chris and his background, and what he did over the years. The reason is that you see all these people that hate Chris, but all you here is that he's an outcast, or possibly a drug dealer, but nothing more. The reason that the secret was kept was also never explained, so the ending wasn't fantastic. Other than that though, it was a great book, great detail describing Bobby's growth throughout the book.

[Cassie Fink · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading this book I came to really enjoy this book. The author did a really good job at keeping me interested in the book the whole way through. I would recommend this book for anyone who likes not knowing what is going to happen next. The author keeps you on edge the whole way through and almost makes it seems as if your in Matts shoes. In the story four friends are left dead, one survives, and one never got into the car. Matt knows something is up and is determined to figure it out. Lee Washington gives him litle bits of the mystery, but its up to Matt. At first I hated this book and didnt think I was going to enjoy it at all. But it turned out that it was a pretty good book.

[Jamie Malaterra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book, but I felt like it was a little boring in the beginning. I feel that if I put more time in to read this book everyday, I could of understood it more. My group and I didn't really get the purpose of this book at first. We didn't understand what the author was trying to tell or explain to us. We didn't really know what the conflict of this book was and that was what made it confusing. The last 40 pages of the book was generally good. I wanted to know what was going to happen next and it made me want to keep reading on.

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm glad The Accident is back in print.

This one-or-two-sitting read asks YA readers to witness the effects of: peer pressure, stereotyping, poverty, journalism, death, political corruption, racism, friendship and personal responsibility.

My only concern: Will teens be turned off by the 1988 setting? Or will they simply view the 80s as another historical setting?

[Sabrina Migliarese · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't really like this book in the beginning because I felt that it was slow moving and was taking forever to actually get to the accident. Some parts in the end made it better and I found it interesting. One thing I do have to say is that this book gives a good lesson for teens about drinking and driving and how it is terrible and has deadly causes.

[Sophia Trotta · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Accident was not a well written book. It was very slow and boring in the beginning. However, once it did get to the accident it started to become more interesting because it taught the lesson about the effects of drinking and driving. I would not recommend this book because the plot didn't have enough suspense throughout the book.

[Miss.Always.Reading.Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Accident:
At first I thought this book was going to be boring. I skipped a few pages in the begining but after chapter 3 it started to get good. This book goes to show that money can cover up the truth. If you have money you can get away with anything. I figured out who commited the crime before the book revealed it. It was a very good book.

[Nicolepaige · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the book, it was very good. It kept me into the story by having a twist in the end. I would have never realized what was going to happen in the story until I read the whole book. I thought something else was going to happen but it had suspense to the story.

[Tyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I both liked and dis liked this book. I liked it because the school was getting a new pool for the school and swim team. i didnt like the ideas that Chris, Jason, Bobby,Susie had made by going up to the moutains to the ski house because they crashed and all of them had died except for Jason.

[Cydni Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this book because it shows good and bad in life and it's About a drunk person gets in a car accident then a little later the girls boyfriend gets in a skiing accident. I would recommend this book.

[Kayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a pretty good book. I read it a long time ago, like when I was in 7th grade I think.

[alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was pretty good and funny, but I didn't like that it didn't have an ending.

[Tamara710 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had a lot of mysterious parts that made tou not want to stop reading the book. Finally i finished reading this book and i enjoye d reading it.

[Anthonymiller · Rating 4 out of 5]

great book on teen drinking and alchol abuse on teens

[Leslie Tejada · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a good book

Um....the book was situational irony. It was interesting and suspenseful. I would read it again and hope you read it and enjoy it.

[Caden · Rating 2 out of 5]

It wasn't the best. Most of the time Matt just says "I'm gonna figure this mystery out" and he never does til about the last 10 pages of the book.

[Riya Barak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible honestly so heartbreaking and emotional filled with so much grief and depressing things that just make me want to cry

[Alex Brennan]

Matt is left to pick up the pieces of his life after his best friend Robert tragically dies with 3 other teenagers in a drunken driving accident. Struggling to cope with this reality, Matt decides to look into the mystery more. People calling him deluded, and crazy, telling him he needs to let go. However, Matt soon unravels a shocking truth that changes the whole reality of that night.