Gone [Hardcover]

Kathleen Jeffrie Johnson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 6, 2007

No more pity love for Connor, from aunts and neighbors, from missing mothers and fathers. From drunks. No, this time the real thing is his. He just has to take it. Kathleen Jeffrie Johnson, known for "riveting" fiction (Kirkus Reviews, starred review of Target), digs deep into the heart of a forbidden relationship. Sometimes, she tells us, loneliness can send a boy down a dangerous path. Sometimes, it can take a while to find the way back.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up–This romance set near Baltimore has the elements necessary to create tension to move the novel forward from one heart-wrenching moment to the next. Connor, a recent high school graduate just short of his 18th birthday, and Corinna Timms, his 31-year-old former social studies teacher, are drawn uncontrollably to one another. Unfortunately, the story doesn't work. The sexual fumblings, anger, and longing seem as shallow as the one-dimensional characters themselves. Corinna is a former drug-addicted dropout and Connor, the product of alcohol-addicted parents. His father, broken by an accident caused by his alcoholism, is institutionalized. Connor visits him out of a sense of obligation. The protagonist is a gifted worker in wood, not so gifted academically, who frequently views the world in geometric forms. Events are sequential, relying heavily on coincidence. The supporting characters are revealed through narrative description rather than interaction. Even the pets are props. As often as not the cat is used to arouse Connor from his current fantasy or sexual self-indulgence. There is the obligatory separation and consequent pursuit in the last pages, a trip from Maryland to New Mexico. And it is in this futile endeavor that Connor comes to realize what his life really means. But by this time, readers may not care.–Sheila Fiscus, Our Lady of Peace School, Erie, PA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

From a blow job to a backseat coupling that leaves recent high-school graduate Connor "spent and trembling" atop his former history teacher, this intense novel, from the author of Target (2003), oesn't shy away from specifics. Steamy sex scenes notwithstanding, Johnson's interest lies primarily in the way the inappropriate relationship fills a vulnerable teen's emotional void. Connor has finished his senior year living with his aunt, "just doing time" as he extricates himself from his alcoholic parents. When Ms. Timms reciprocates his crush, hopes for a remade future hinge upon his lover's unpredictable moods and plans. Johnson creates a feverish atmosphere--the humid summer, the blazing grill at the restaurant where Connor works--to underline the physical desire, and crushing emotions are beautifully drawn. However, some pieces of the puzzle fit the child-of-an-alcoholic profile too precisely, while others are left frustratingly unresolved, and Johnson's overly poetic voice frequently intrudes. Still, teens will be drawn by the racy cover photo and respond as much to the affair's heartbreaking course as to Connor's drifting, post-high-school dislocation. Jennifer Mattson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 14 and up
  
• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Roaring Brook Press; First Edition edition (March 6, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596431385
• ISBN-13: 978-1596431386
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,675,293 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

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Don't believe the reviews---this book is a disappointment., January 20, 2008

By 

Librarian Girl - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gone (Hardcover)

I found this book to be rather disappointing. Judging from the reviews listed on Amazon and the description of the book, I thought I was in for a juicy story about an illicit and ill-destined love affair between a teacher and her student. Turns out that's not much the case. The "student" is a recent high school graduate and two weeks away from being 18 when the relationship begins. The teacher is 31, unmarried and otherwise uncommitted to anyone else. So where is the scandal??? Apart from the age difference being a slight eyebrow-raiser to those who are shocked by that kind of thing, there is absolutely nothing else that classifies this relationship as "crossing the line" or "inappropriate," as the author qualifies the relationship on the back flap of the book. Sorry, but it is really not crossing the line. He is not her student. She's not cheating on anyone. They're both more or less consenting adults. That it doesn't turn out well in the end....well, life's hard, kid.

One other thing. I did the math while reading the book. The relationship between Connor and Corinna lasts maybe a week. That's seven days, people. Yet we are supposed to believe that he is inextricably involved and obssessively in love with her? He obviously has some issues to deal with, but frankly I'm not buying it.

If the author wanted to make this book a controversial story as it's been advertised, then she should have put something remotely controversial in it. Instead, she just has a young person involved with an older person who happens to be a teacher, big deal. The sex scenes aren't even that graphic, either, as suggested in the reviews. Also, the writing drags here and there and made me impatient to get to the meat of the story. However, when I finished it I felt like there should have been more to it. I got halfway through the book before this "inappropriate" relationship even began.

Overall this book was not really worth reading. I would suggest checking it out at the library first.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GONE is a touching story of a student and teacher who cross the line, July 10, 2007

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gone (Hardcover)

On the first day of class Connor finds an unusual attraction for his history teacher, Ms. Timms - and he can't stop thinking about her. The love and home he's always missed seem to be offered up through her - and through the possibilities of a forbidden relationship. GONE is a touching story of a student and teacher who cross the line - and is a recommended pick for mature young adults.