326 pages
Realistic Fiction
Here’s another book I am going to give the highest rating. This book has it all — characters so realistic you want them for your friends (or you know you’d avoid as bad news), secrets that are itching to get out, and a truth about life and relationships that runs really deep.
Mason Buttle is struggling. His best friend died tragically about a year ago under suspicious circumstances, and a persistent police officer keeps coming around to ask questions. School is one big challenge, from the schoolwork he can’t read and a skin condition he can’t control to the other kids who make his life miserable. It’s like he and his family have hit rock bottom. But Mason has a sweet nature, and a flicker of hope lies inside him. A kind-hearted social worker, a new friend who is just as much a misfit as he is and a dog who loves him keep him going. There’s finally adventure and laughter and a new hideout to lighten his spirits. However, when his new friend disappears, almost everyone is left wondering what Mason’s truth is after all!
I highly recommend this book to ANY reader. P.S. To my friends who have read and loved Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick, this is a must read!
Evan Hansen is caught in a BIG lie. His letter to himself (an assignment from his therapist) is taken by the wrong person. When the contents of the letter are released, it becomes impossible for Evan to reveal the truth. The lie has helped a lot of people deal with a difficult situation, but it is eating away at Evan. I actually held my breath knowing that the truth would have to come out at some point, and it could do some serious harm to people he has come to love. How can a kid who is already struggling to interact with the world around him find his way through this maze (labyrinth really) of relationships and deception without being consumed by his own guilt and anxiety?