Customer Reviews

Downtown

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
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This is one of my favorite NFM books.("Silver" is stiff competition) In it, Pete Greenwood endeavored to understand his parents and himself. His mother and father were fugitive radicals, so they had to send him to live with his uncle at the age of 8. With a different name and identity, Pete began a new life. It seemed great, but he always brooded over his past. Now he's 16. Can he confide in his new girlfriend Cary? Will he ever be reunited with his parents? The ending is a sad but realistic cliffhanger. I'd love a sequel, but it's also interesting to speculate for yourself about what happens to Pete. I greatly reccomend this book to teens who feel lost in the search for identity.

How do I start this? Well, Pete Greenwood's parents went into hiding when he was eight years old after they blew up a laboratory. He lives with his uncle Gene and has started a new life with a different name ("Pete"), but even now he is sixteen he still has nightmares and is in fear of being caught.

I agree with one of the other reviewers, the story is not just about his relationship with his new girlfriend. There is some focus about his fear of being caught as well as his wishing for his parents to return, and I liked that. I don't know whether you could call that realistic coz obviously I haven't experienced it, but I guess it should be something like that. I liked that you could think how it turned out in the end. I have no idea to whom I should recommend this, but I liked it...

Although the paperback caption focuses on whether he can disclose the secret to his new girlfriend, the story is more than a romance. It's a powerful account of the effects a parents' fugitiveness have on a teenager. Pete Greenwood is very loyal to his parents and so will keep their secret; but he is plagued by nightmares (the "White Terror"), the constant fear of being watched and caught by the FBI, and the pain of being separated from his parents. Mazer has strong vivid characterizations, credible plot, and a moving storyline. The novel has suspense, drama, and romance. Downtown is my favorite Norma Fox Mazer book.