The Other Side of Dark (Lightning) [Paperback]

Joan Lowery Nixon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 16, 1993 | Series: Lightning

This novel for teenagers is by the author of over 60 books for young readers and recipient of the Edgar Allan Poe Special Award. It tells the story of a young girl who comes out of a coma after four years and realizes that she alone has seen the face of the man who murdered her mother.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Stacy, 17, awakens from the coma she's been in for four years, following a gunshot wound, and finds her world is drastically altered. The shooting incident that injured her also killed her mother. Her older sister is married and pregnant. Hairstyles, clothing and friends have changed. Stacy, if her memory returns, can put the man who shot her and murdered her mother behind bars. Soon every face she sees looks both familiar and strange, and the attention of a boy named Jeff is welcomed and feared. Because of press reports, the murderer knows that Stacy can find him. She's afraid she's being watched. And when her memory and the truth about the killer come back to her, Stacy faces the darker side of herself. The compelling premise of Stacy's lost years and Nixon's mastery of suspense are gripping. But readers want to know more about Stacy's adjustment; there is no real period of mourning for her mother, and the ending leaves unresolved issues.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 7-10 Awakening from a four-year coma, Stacy learns that the intruder who shot her also killed her mother, and that she was the only witness. Stacy has to come to terms with her new identity: physically a 17 year old, yet mentally still a 13 year old, she has missed four years of growing up and of popular culture. At the same time, she realizes that she has to identify the killer before he can silence her. Stacy is a vivid character whose need to be brought up to date provides some comic moments, such as her confusion at new hair styles and her unfamiliarity with pasta salad. While this mystery is generally tense and dramatic, the first-person narrative does remove the edge from some of the suspense. One other weakness is Stacy's love interest, a narcotics officer masquerading as a high-school senior. Nixon does not convince readers that this 23-year-old man would fall in love with someone who in so many ways thinks and acts like a 13 year old. Yet the clever premise, the quick pace, and the determined protagonist should attract and hold readers. David Gale, "School Library Journal"
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Hodder Children's Books (September 16, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0340491671
• ISBN-13: 978-0340491676
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (129 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,238,904 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You HAVE to read this book!!!, August 10, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Other Side of Dark (Laurel-Leaf Suspense Fiction) (Mass Market Paperback)

This was my favorite of Joan Lowery Nixion's books! From the moment I started reading it I was hooked. It has a mix of romance and spine tingling- suspense. A real page turner. If you've never read one of her books this is the one to start out with.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A SUSPENSFUL HORROR STORY..., March 21, 2002

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Other Side of Dark (Laurel-Leaf Suspense Fiction) (Mass Market Paperback)

This book was the best, right from the beginning I loved it. Joan Lowery Nixon's second book I have ever read is better then the first one. I definently recommend this book to others!!!! But, this book IS mostly horror, so I would say that if you get scared easily or don't like things involving murder, guns, and stalking then I DON'T recommend this to you.
This book is about a seventeen year old girl named Stacy, who has just woken from a four year coma to find out that she isn't thirteen anymore. Also that her mother was murdered. She saw the murderer's face that also shot her, but she just can't remember it. After a reporter comes in, she starts to think that what will happen if the murderer finds her before she remembers the face? Things are hard to get used to when you are used to being thirteen. Her friend helps her with makeup and she starts to think about the four grades she has missed and will somehow have to make up. Soon she is offered a baby-sitting job by her next door neighbor, her sister doesn't agree, but she says yes anyway. When baby-sitting, one of the girls comes down stairs after using the restroom and says that she has seen... whoops I am getting carried away. I don't want to ruin the WHOLE story for you. So in order to find out what she sees (which is scary by the way) you will have to read this book on your own, to find out also who is Stacy's mom's murderer, and will he find her before she remembers his face. READ IT, I'M TELLING YOU IT IS A GREAT BOOK!!!!!!!!

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One Suspenseful Story, October 30, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Other Side of Dark (Laurel-Leaf Suspense Fiction) (Mass Market Paperback)

The book I read was Other Side of Dark by Joan Lowery Nixon. The story is about Stacy McAdams, a 17 year old girl who just awakes from a coma for 4 long, years. She was brought to the hospital at the age of 13, after being shot by her Mother's murderer. After awaking, she is confronted by the cops that she is the only eye witness of the murderer. Now her job is to remember the face of the guy who was on her back porch, the guy with the gun in his hand that shot her and killed her Mother; she remembers it all, but the guy's face is unclear. The big question is will she remember the face of her Mother's murderer before the killer finds her again? It is a very suspenseful story, it will keep you turning the pages to see clues that will eventually lead up to what will happen.