Customer Reviews

Acceleration

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Acceleration is a wonderfully written suspense novel. This book actually got my heart rate up. Finding out what acceleration means is an interesting part of this novel.

Some who are critical of this novel must not have read all of it because all of the preliminary facts and details suck the reader into the world of the main character, Duncan. By the time you realize you are totally immersed in the cold, dark, murky existence of Duncan and his nightmares, you are hooked.

McNamee does a tremendous job with the setup, which makes the climax a thrilling peak to the intriguing story of a lost soul who finds himself depressed by his recent past, and looking for a way to make up for mistakes he feels so much responsibility for.

The main character, Duncan, gets himself in WAY over his head and nearly drowns himself in a world of terror and PURE FEAR and adrenaline that moves this novel to a perfect conclusion.

Whatever the author did, he did it right because I forgot where I was and actually became immersed in the world that exists in the novel. I FELT the fear and the adrenaline rush that leads to the book's climax and resolution.

Fantastic book!

Imagine this: you're looking around for something to read when you find this little brown book that turns out to be a diary. Inside you find the dirty and sick writings of an unknown writer. That's what happens to 14 year old Duncan in the book Acceleration written by Graham McNamee.

Duncan is a normal, average teenager living in Toronto, a place known as the Jungle. He also works a normal job every day, but it's the subway lost and found, which he calls the Dungeon. There is no air or sunlight, so you can imagine what he's going through. While trying to pass the endless hours of his shift, he finds a little brown book that was turned in ten days ago. But that little brown book isn't just an average book, it's the diary of a crazy serial killer, who Duncan calls Roach. Roach has drowned mice, hung cats, started numerous fires, and is now "hunting" three women and planning to kill them. Duncan knows its up to him to put the pieces of this puzzle together, think like a serial killer thinks, find and stop this killer before he strikes and it's too late.

I really liked the book Acceleration because of its fast-paced action and feeling of the clock ticking and time running out. If you like realistic fiction books with lots of suspense and action, Acceleration is the book for you! This book will make you stay at the edge of your seat throughout the entire story.

As a high school teacher of a class full of reading haters, I highly recommend this book. My students were sad when it was over, they couldn't wait to get to class to read this suspenseful thriller.

i seriously could not put that book down!!! especially when it got near the end. suspensfull...
the mice thing was a little... disturbing but I'm a girl so maybe thats why?

Acceleration by Graham McNamee is a great read if you are looking for a fast-paced and exciting book. From start to Finnish I never put the book down. It always kept me wanting more, and at the end of the book I was ready to go buy any other books by the author. The book was written in first person, and the main character was my age and it helped me relate to him. Sometimes it felt like I was actually in Duncan's, the main character, head. I thought that the way Graham McNamee wrote was very descriptive. He made me feel like I was in the book. I would read this book again, and I will recommend it to many people, but especially people who like edge-of-your-seat stories. Overall I enjoyed this book a lot.

Good characterization from Duncan to Vinny, Wayne, and Duncan's boss Jacob. Even the parents have personalities without taking up valuable story time. McNamee is able to develop these people through his scenes without annoying pauses from the story to set down details. McNamee also establishes the mood through Duncan's job at the Lost and Found (the Morgue). Duncan himself belongs at the Lost and Found as he sorts out his failure of last summer. Is he a hero or is he just like everyone else? The mood also comes through with Duncan's father's work on the night shift--his vampire habits which come across with humor and realism--and their home in the Jungle. McNamee establishes Duncan's life, past to present, and shows how the 17 year old is in a rut. His discovery of the skin-covered journal revives him into action. With solid details about the true habits of serial killers, McNamee lends credibility to Duncan's tale.

The one flaw, which is the same flaw as Speak, is the tidy ending. However, changing the end would be a mistake. This ending allows for McNamee's theme to come through and allows us to cheer for the hero.

A great read. I had to read the thieving of the toilet scene out loud to my wife--very funny. The best book I've read this summer.

Talk about a book you can't put down. This quick read is worthy of its title. When a teenage boy finds the diary of a would-be stalker and murderer, he feels compelled to track the criminal down before he harms another woman. This quest becomes personal because the protagonist was unable to save a drowing victim the summer before. It is a tale of redemption, of coming full circle, of feeling the weight of the world, all the while still trying to be a kid, suffering through a first job and dealing with parents. With a stunning high-octane ending, this is sure to please both readers of true crime and mystery.

Acceleration, by Graham McNamee is a great book for teens. The book really pulls the reader into the story and holds the reader's attention to the very end! Full of mystery, suspense, and wit, this book is great for any young adult looking for a good read!

As ACCELERATION won the Edgar Award for Best Young Adult Mystery, you'd expect its strength to be plot. Instead, I submit that characterization carries the day in this book. The plot is a bit too convenient at times and takes too long to bring protagonist and antagonist together. In addition, once that happens, the climax is summarily (and rather conveniently) wrapped up, leaving a slight aftertaste of letdown.

Graham McNamee's 17-year-old first-person narrator is Duncan and his summer job is in the lost and found department of the Toronto subway. Here he finds the lost "diary" of a serial killer-in-training. Duncan decides to track this guy down on his own after a brief visit to the police shows that they're too busy (or foolish) to care about the document. The rather caricatured portrayal of the police is one of two reasons to explain Duncan's decision. The other is a drowning girl he couldn't quite save who haunts his dreams. Duncan wants to make amends by saving possible victims of the would-be serial killer. Building your suspension bridge of disbelief from these two details, you cross over only to find an extended build-up to the aforementioned climax that introduces the antagonist a bit too late.

What saves the day for this book is the characterization. McNamee has a fine ear for the badinage that goes on between teenage boys who show their affection for each other through humor and put downs. Reluctant reading boys, especially, will enjoy the back and forth jokes between Duncan and his two friends Vinnie and Wayne (well-drawn characters in their own right). With secondary characters like this, readers are more than willing to forgive any plot peccadilloes as McNamee works his way to a somewhat predictable conclusion. Despite the minor plot concerns, I recommend the book for kids in Grades 8 and up.

The book I read was about a teenage boy who works at a Subway Station Lost and Found. The most boring job in the whole world. One day at work he finds this book that is kind of like a diary. The boy soon finds out this diary is written by a serial killer and he is going to kill these three women. He soon decides the lives of these three women are in his hands. So the boy gets his two best friends to help him find and stop this man. The only thing that is stopping him is he doesn't have a clue who this guy is or where he came from.
I really liked this book a lot because it was a nonstop mystery and didn't give you a clue to what may happen next. Once I started reading it I couldn't put it down. It had me feeling like I was right there in the story with them. I also liked how they told different stories of the boy and his two best friends and the story of how he had got his job at the Subway Lost and Found. I would compare this book to a TV show called Tru's Calling because in the book the boy has to find out who this guy is and so does Tru in the TV show.
I think people who like a good mystery, suspense and adventure book. Also people who love a book that they can't put down.