I've read other fabulous books by Pete Hautman, but this particular one only merits two stars. While he paints his main character extremely well, the plot is weak.
The main character, Dougie, comes off as a bit disturbing. Even from the beginning of the book, there's something about the way he speaks that seems a bit off. After scanning the chapter, one might notice that he uses contractions sparingly. This is not how normal teenagers talk. When I speak, I swallow about half of my words, unless I'm speaking during speech and debate. Even then, I use the words can't and don't and won't. However, I let this pass. Maybe Hautman's keyboard is mysteriously missing an ' key. Even ignoring the syntax, the way that Pete describes the world around him gives the reader hints that Dougie is not quite alright in the head.
The other character, Andy, is pretty cool. He's the kid who does football, participates in plays, and maintains great grades. He's Dougie's best friend, and the two talk pretty often.
The plot twist, however, is kind of lame. It's one of those moments in which an author attempts to keep the reader in the dark, dropping subtle hints. This would have been effective if the hints were at all subtle. It takes just a couple of chapters to figure out that Andy died a while back, and that Dougie is merely speaking to a figment of his imagination. So, when the plot twist is revealed and Dougie comes to the realization that his friend died in a fire, I wasn't too impressed.
Over all, I wouldn't recommend this book to others, unless you plan to read purely for the characters. That's all.
~Taara
