Skinhead

by Jay Bennett

The recipient of the call was Jonathan Atwood, the bright young grandson of Peter Atwood, one of the most influential people in America. It was his grandfather who raised him, who taught him to be proud of the Atwood family name.

But that was all before the detective called from faraway Seattle, telling him an anonymous man was dying -- and that his last request was to see Jonathan. Before Jonathan agreed to go and flew first-class across the country. Before he met beautiful Jenny, with her mysterious scar.

And before the deadly, dangerous, racist Skinheads began to threaten him, aiming their guns, ready and willing to kill him to keep a secret alive....

Genres: Mystery

146 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

[Will J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Personal Response: I like the book, Skinhead, because of how it talks about the social groups there are in society. Also, I enjoy how it does not cover up what some negative people are really like. It was boring at the beginning but better and more exciting later on.

Plot: It starts off with Jonathan getting a phone call from this detective named Ward. The detective tells him he needs to come to Seattle. A man is beaten nearly to death and only will talk to Jonathan. Jonathan has no clue who the guy could be, but the guy knows a lot about him. He just goes to figure it out since his grandpa, Mr. Atwood, who is a very rich and powerful. Jonathan booked a flight and flew there that night. Jonathan’s taxi got stuck in traffic by the time he showed up he died. The detective asks him if he wants to see his body to see if Jonathan knows him. Jonathan does because he wants to know how this man knows so much about him. On the way down the elevator, the detective starts questioning if Jonathan was involved. Then it got a little heated between them but Jonathan promises he wasn't involved. When he saw the body, he still had no idea of who he could be. When he looked into the man's eyes, he felt awful seeing all the bruises. He gets emotional for this man he never even knew or talked to. Jonathan and the detective talk outside before Jonathan is off to his hotel room. Later that night, Jonathan gets a phone call from a harsh voice telling him to get on the plane tomorrow. The voice tells him to never come back to Seattle or else he will end up like the man beaten to death in the park. Jonathan calls the detective after but does not help with the case and he tells him to get on the plane because they killed someone already. The next day when Jonathan is at the airport ready to leave, he runs into this lady named Jenny Mason. She knows Jonathan's name and everything too. She also knows the name of the man, Alfred Kaplan, who was murdered. After some back and forth conversation, she convinces him to go with her and help get the people who killed Kaplan. This is when the readers get a perspective of the skinheads, Mitch and Carl, watching him not get on the plane. Back to Jonathan, Jenny is taking him to Kaplan's house. She tells him how it was the skinheads who killed Kaplan for writing a book about them and just being Jewish. Jonathan decides to call the detective and give him all this new information. However, the detective only can go on solid proof and he tells Jonathan to come to his house. When Jonathan got there, he was sitting in the car with Jenny for a bit. That's when a skinhead pulls up behind him and points a gun at him. He tells Jonathan to get out, tells Jenny to drive away and not to tell anyone what has happened or Jonathan is dead. Mitch takes him to the car where Carl is waiting and they drive off. During the drive, they tease him and sings songs saying racist things. They tie a bandana around his eyes so he does not know where they are going. When they stop and get out, Jonathan sees that it is at a farmhouse and Jonathan gets to sleep in the barn. When he wakes up, he sees a bunch of chairs and Mitch tells him that this is where they have their meeting and Carl is the one leading them. After a few days of the skinheads making him say racist things from their twisted mindset, he finally escapes. Then Jonathan finds out the truth about Kaplan.

Recommendations: I recommend this book to 8th to 11th grade students. It is a good book but has a choppy storyline. I recommend this for both male and female readers. There is not anything that makes it specific to one gender. It includes violence so do not read if readers are sensitive to that. I give it 3 out of 5 stars

[Brooke Presley · Rating 1 out of 5]

I do not like it. Bad book. Why was one of the Nazis nice to him THEY ARE NAZIS. And the girl with the ribbon what. I didn’t enjoy this as much as the skeleton man. Much better book by the same author, go read that instead of this please.

[Eden Silverfox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jonathan Atwood is 19, lives with his grandfather and has never wanted for anything. His grandfather has raised him, taught him to be proud of the family name and when he is gone wants Jonathan to have everything of his.

But one day, Jonathan gets a phone call from a police officer in Seattle. It's about a man who is in the hospital and for some reason wants to see Jonathan. The officer doesn't know who the man is and Jonathan doesn't know anyone in Seattle. But something tells him he should go to Seattle and find out who this man is. But Jonathan doesn't know yet that this trip will be a dangerous one and he'll find out more than just who the man is.

I've read a few other books by Jay Bennett and so far, I've liked what I read by him. His writing style is different and I like it. I think this book has to be the best one I've read by him yet.

The main character Jonathan gets a call from a police officer about a man; a man he doesn't know and has no idea why the man would want to see him. From the start, the story hooked me and I wanted to know what was going on. I don't want to say too much about the story and what happened, but I thought the story was very good and sad, too. Sad because there are groups like Skinheads that feel they need to get rid of those who aren't like them. And sad because of what Jonathan learns later in the book.

I would give this book four and a half stars.

[Tabiatha Sherbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Skinhead tells the story of a rich young man named Jonathan that inadvertently gets mixed up in a skinhead murder for reasons that he does not know. Jay Bennett is able to write a tense mystery-suspense that captures the reader. The story moves quickly and keeps the reader on their feet because of the questions the reader is left with and the tense events that quickly unfold, and surprising truths that are revealed. The book has a surprising ending, but the reader is left with unanswered questions because of the vagueness of the text, and Bennett uses the word 'sardonically' excessively, which was rather annoying. Also, the views of skinheads, as expressed in the text, were one-sided and suggested that all skinheads are involved in criminal activity and are racially prejudice, which is not the case. But, Skinhead is an exciting and electrifying read with relatable characters that express deep emotion and analytic thought, and a fast-paced plot line that is able to express the story fully and concisely.

[Gabriel Hathaway · Rating 3 out of 5]

Johnathon Atwood, an young man who lives with his wealthy Grandfather, Receives a phone call from a mysterious detective (Sgt Ward) who says that his presence is requested from a man who has been beaten nearly to death, and is close to dying. While he does not know the man, John's curiosity gets the better of him, and he stumbles upon a murder case that though has no apparent relevance to his life, he is driven to solve it, and feels that there is some meaning for him behind this case.
I felt this book was mediocre, at best, and that it could do with some more editing and re-writing. It was an interesting story, but the characters didn't connect that well with me. I liked the book, but would never read it again.
This book fulfills the mystery requirement for my YA lit class.

[Terrie Schexnaider · Rating 4 out of 5]

I selected this mysery book to read with some of my ESL students because it has a low-lexile level, but the theme is suited for high school students. Although at times a little predictable, it is suspenseful with short chapters that will appeal to reluctant readers. In the end, a big secret is revealed to the main character after he faces a life or death situation. I am excited to share this one with some of my struggling readers and plan to have discussions about each chapter.

[Tanner · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is really suspense and mysterie. it started out with jonathan geting a call at midnight. In the middle of the book the skinheads took him and keep him prisoner. I picked four stars cause it's a cause it has a lot of mystery. This is the first mysterie book i've read. This is a good mysterie book to start out on.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I cannot remember if I read this book back in high school (1994) but I remember reading a book about a young man who gets involved with a group of skinheads.