Blood on His Hands [Hardcover]

Willo Davis Roberts (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 6, 2004

Somewhere in the distance, behind him, Marc heard a hound baying. He hesitated, breathing hard, wiping the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand, straining to hear better. The hound bayed again, a lonely, fearsome sound.

Marc Solie is on the run. He has been for what seems like forever, though it's been less than two years since his little sister died and his family fell apart, since he started running from his pain and despair and pure, desperate loneliness.

This time it's different. Marc's not just running from himself this time; he's running from the cops. Marc's done something bad. He's not sure how bad -- maybe as bad as murder.

Marc's only chance is to get to his father. His father will know what to do, how to get him out of this mess. But Marc hasn't seen or talked to his father for months, and he's not really sure where he is. So Marc keeps running -- following Interstate 5 north from northern California to Washington, hoping to find him.

With only a runt dog named Rat for companionship, Marc has time to reflect on the last two years and come to grips with how his life has changed. For the first time, Marc begins to see how he's responsible for his own actions, and despite any wrongdoings to him, ultimately he's accountable for his life. As Marc sees this truth, he's finally able to stop running and face up to what he's done.

Blood on His Hands is a gripping, taut novel about one boy's journey to manhood.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7-10–When Marc Solie's sister dies from leukemia, he vows never to pray again–but that isn't the only change in his life. His mother keeps Mallory's old bedroom as a shrine, refuses to go for counseling, and stops caring for her husband and son. After Marc's parents divorce and his father moves to Seattle, his mother begins seeing Floyd, a manipulative insurance salesman, and the 14-year-old feels even more neglected and hurt. He regularly exhibits signs of grief and pain, but his mother overlooks them and Floyd misinterprets them. At his urging, she sends her son to a work camp for troubled boys. At Camp Heritage, the teen witnesses the cruelty of a counselor when a camper is left tied up outside in the mid-day heat without water. Through flashbacks, the protagonist tells how he defended himself against Stoner, feared that he had killed him, and hitchhiked his way from northern California to Seattle to find his father. While Roberts makes it clear that there are serious consequences to severe actions, she may have taken it a little too far. Marc just cannot get a break–everything is shadowed in bleakness. Prayer and other religious references to his view of God are mentioned throughout, but none of them results in a grounding, an explanation, or relief from the events that unfold. For a more satisfying read about a boy sent to work camp, suggest Louis Sachar's Holes (Farrar, 1998).–Delia Fritz, Mercersburg Academy, PA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 6-8. The three-time Edgar Award winner strays a bit from her usual territory here, though she still manages to create a sense of dread--at least for her main character, a runaway teen who fears he has killed a bullying camp counselor. In a blind panic after whacking the man with a tree limb, Marc flees, hoping to reach his father, who he thinks is the only adult he can trust. As he runs, memories of his fractured home life spread out before him--the death of his beloved sister, his parents' divorce, his mother's relationship with the autocrat who sends him to a camp for incorrigible kids. Nothing unexpected occurs, and the adult characters are little more than stereotypes--self-involved, cruel, ignorant, or ineffectual. But Marc himself is clearly a good kid who is acting out because he's been ignored, and teens who feel their own lives similarly spinning out of control will have no trouble sympathizing. Roberts should also get points for the way things turn out: Marc's life is looking up by the close--but he doesn't get off scot-free. Stephanie Zvirin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum/Richard Jackson Books (July 6, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689850743
• ISBN-13: 978-0689850745
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,011,549 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Compelling, but slightly disappointing, September 10, 2004

By 

Teenreads.com (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blood on His Hands (Hardcover)

Marc Solie is running for his life. He thinks he has killed a security guard at the horrible, abusive detention camp he's been sentenced to. Now he and his dog are wandering through the bleak California wilderness, not sure where they are or even where they can go to find safety.

As Marc walks and hitchhikes north, he thinks back to how he got sent to Camp Heritage in the first place. Through flashbacks, readers learn about Marc's little sister's death from leukemia, his parents' difficult grieving process, and his own, sometimes violent, attempts to get his parents to notice him again. Readers also learn more about the horrific circumstances that led Marc to attack the camp guard and flee for his life.

This storytelling style, gradually revealing details of Marc's past, should be suspenseful, and at times it is. However, the teasing repetition of past events, often stopping just short of telling critical details, can cause frustration. Nevertheless, Marc's story, especially his discouraging attempts to manage his own grief after his sister's death, is compelling and sympathetic.

Although this is not one of the more successful efforts from Edgar Award-winning novelist Willo Davis Roberts, it will still keep readers engaged and rooting for Marc to find safety and forgiveness.

--- Reviewed by Norah Piehl