Joker and the Thief, The [Hardcover]

Raymond Obstfeld (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1993

Eric and Didra's plans for a weekend alone are interrupted by the discovery of an escapee from a juvenile detention home hiding in their cabin.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Obstfeld's first young adult book unites two 17-year-olds who, despite widely different backgrounds, struggle with the same difficult issues, broken families and adolescent sexuality among them. Eric, the model student from Washington, D.C., has planned a secret rendezvous with Didra, his college-student girlfriend, at her parents' unoccupied vacation home, where he hopes to lose his virginity. But someone else has hidden at the cabin--Griffin, a runaway from a juvenile detention center in rural Virginia. The street-smart youth radiates a devilish charm, and despite some intense scuffling, Eric forfeits opportunities to turn the fellow in. As his relationship with Didra crumbles, he forges a brotherly bond with Griffin. Protracted flashbacks disrupt the action, but otherwise the the writing is top-notch. Alternately poignant, suspenseful and wryly humorous, this adventure should captivate a large readership. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

In a suspenseful first novel, a complacent teenager's intended tryst becomes a weekend of stunning self-discovery. Anticipating a delicious reunion with his high-school sweetheart, Didra, Eric arrives at a secluded country house to find a fugitive from a nearby juvenile-detention center holed up there. Griffin is a paradox: tough, brutally scarred, sporting a self-made tattoo, yet magnetically charming and surprisingly well-educated; Didra, when she arrives, is fascinated by him and his tale of being framed on drug charges. As circumstances force the two young men into reluctant cooperation, the well-planned life Eric is weaving for himself begins to unravel under Griffin's merciless scrutiny. After a shocking series of revelations--Didra's faithlessness to Eric, in the service of her TV career, is only the first--Eric finds himself swinging between rage, fear, desire for Griffin's sister Jojo and confusion at what is, by his lights, irrational behavior. Still, in the end, refusing to let Griffin face the music alone, he gives up a chance to get away. The nature and value of art is an important subtheme here; strong or weak, most of these characters are artists. The author tries their mettle in an intricately complex situation--laced with storms of emotion and violence (Griffin spends most of the novel bleeding from one wound or another)--and ably delivers some sharp insights into what makes people tick. (Fiction. YA) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 230 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (January 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385308558
• ISBN-13: 978-0385308557
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,292,652 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Book ROCKS!, January 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Joker and the Thief, The (Hardcover)

This intriging look into the human nature was both moving and motivating. The characters are both realistic and beleivable. I read it in five hours! Please write a sequel!!!!!!!!