Reality Check (Laura Geringer Books) [Hardcover]

Peter Abrahams (Author)

Book Description

Series: Laura Geringer Books | Publication Date: April 28, 2009

QB of the varsity football team. Passing grades in all his classes. Dating the hottest—and smartest—girl at school. Summer job paying more than minimum wage. Things in Cody's world seem to be going pretty well. Until, that is, his girlfriend, Clea, is sent off to boarding school across the country, and a torn ACL ends his high school football career. But bad things come in threes—or in Cody's case, sixes and twelves—and the worst is yet to come. While limping through town one day, Cody sees a newspaper heading: "Local Girl Missing." Clea, now his ex, has disappeared from her boarding school in Vermont, and the only clue is a letter she sent to Cody the morning of her disappearance. With that as his guide, Cody sets out to find out what happened. Once in Vermont, he unearths the town's secrets—and finds out that football isn't the only thing he's good at.

Reality Check is another edge-of-your-seat suspense novel by the New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award-nominated author of Down the Rabbit Hole.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up—Set in Little Bend, CO, and North Dover, VT, Abrahams's novel follows Cody, 16, who sustains a serious knee injury that leaves him on the bench during the most important recruiting year in his high school career. With no college scholarship in sight, he drops out of school. When his rich girlfriend, Clea, is reported missing from her Vermont boarding school, he drives East to find her and endangers himself in the process. Though not as complicated as Abrahams's adult novels, Reality Check is a solid mystery reminiscent of Carol Plum-Ucci's The Body of Christopher Creed (Harcourt, 2000) or Nancy Werlin's The Killer's Cousin (Delacorte, 1998). That Cody is a country boy and a dropout both complicate and inform his detective persona; the realization that "with the exception of football" he was wasting his time in school sends him "some message about a whole different way for him to look at things, to live." It is this "whole different way" that allows Cody—a fish out of water among wealthy Dover Academy students—to solve the mystery, though not before a red herring is revealed and a surprise villain is unmasked.—Amy S. Pattee, Simmons College, Boston
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Review

“A solid mystery.” (School Library Journal )

“The latest engrossing crime novel from Abrahams...an exciting, fast-paced story.” (Publishers Weekly )

“The climax is unexpected….readers will be frantically turning pages.” (Kirkus Reviews )

A fine thriller that is pitched to attract everyone from reluctant readers to sports fans to romantic idealists. (Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA) (Starred Review) )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 13 and up
  
• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: HarperTeen; 1 edition (April 28, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061227668
• ISBN-13: 978-0061227660
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #836,805 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Peter Abrahams - "criminally gifted" according to the New York Times Book Review - is the author of 27 novels. These include the New York Times bestselling Echo Falls mystery series for middle-graders (DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE, BEHIND THE CURTAIN, INTO THE DARK) and REALITY CHECK (2009) for teens. Among his adult books are OBLIVION (Shamus prize finalist), THE FAN (made into a movie with Robert DeNiro) and LIGHTS OUT (Edgar award finalist). DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE was a finalist for the Edgar best young adult mystery award and won the Agatha in the same category. BEHIND THE CURTAIN and INTO THE DARK were Agatha finalists. In her Cleveland Plain Dealer review of NERVE DAMAGE (2007), Michelle Ross wrote: "I swear, if one more literary person says in that oh-so-condescendng tone, 'Oh, I don't read ... mysteries,' I'm going to take a novel by Peter Abrahams and smack him on his smug little head." REALITY CHECK won the best young adult mystery Edgar award in 2010. ROBBIE FORESTER AND THE OUTLAWS OF SHERWOOD STREET, January 2012, is first in a new middle-grade series about a twelve-year-old Robin Hood in contemporary Brooklyn.
As Spencer Quinn, Abrahams also writes the New York Times bestselling Chet and Bernie mystery series: DOG ON it, THEREBY HANGS A TAIL, TO FETCH A THIEF, and THE DOG WHO KNEW TOO MUCH. He has a website - peterabrahams.com; and so does Chet - chetthedog.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Tight, Smart Mystery, One With Plenty of Twists and Unexpected Turns, June 3, 2009

By 

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

This review is from: Reality Check (Laura Geringer Books) (Hardcover)

Peter Abrahams established his reputation as a skillful writer of mystery novels for adults, gaining popularity and critical acclaim for his realistic, multifaceted mysteries that often feature unusual characters. A few years back, he widened his scope by starting the award-winning series of Echo Falls mysteries for younger readers, starring a 13-year-old soccer-playing aspiring actress and amateur sleuth. Now, he bridges the gap between his dedicated audiences with REALITY CHECK, a young adult mystery that combines the intensity of football, the struggles of growing up and the fear of losing a loved one.

Cody Laredo is finishing his sophomore year of high school on top of the world. He has passed all his classes, which means he'll be able to QB the varsity football team in the fall. And he's looking forward to a long, lazy summer, working at his dad's landscaping business and spending all his spare time with his girlfriend, Clea Weston, the smartest, most beautiful girl in school. When Clea's wealthy father abruptly whisks her away to the other side of the world for the summer, however, Cody starts to rethink his luck. Things go from bad to worse when Clea unwillingly transfers to an elite private school in Vermont for her junior year --- worlds away from Cody's working-class background. And when Cody suffers a torn ACL following a hard hit in a fall football game, he feels like the whole world has been yanked out from under his feet.

Cody had been counting on his football talent --- it was his ticket to a Division I football scholarship, to a future away from his small Colorado town, to a life with Clea. But when he's no longer Cody the quarterback, who is Cody, exactly? All his life he's been told he has football smarts, not book smarts, a comment that seems to become a self-fulfilling prophecy when the combination of popping pain pills, missing Clea and generally giving up on himself prompts Cody to drop out of school and take a dead-end job.

Cody has just about given up on life when he suddenly finds a new mission. Clea has abruptly disappeared from her Vermont boarding school. The police seem to be flummoxed, and Cody holds a key clue --- a letter she wrote to him the day she disappeared. Cody sets off on a road trip to a world of privilege, wealth and secrets, a world he doesn't understand but soon finds himself investigating. He doesn't know who, if anyone, he can trust --- but he has to learn to trust himself again if he's going to have any chance of finding Clea.

REALITY CHECK is a tight, smart mystery, one with plenty of twists and unexpected turns that will keep readers turning the pages. Just as compelling as the mystery plot, however, is the story of Cody's journey to find himself, to discover his talents, to believe that he has worth somewhere other than on the football field. Abrahams also cleverly ties in plot points that could have been ripped from recent headlines, giving the mystery added currency and urgency. If the novel has a fault, it's that the story's conclusion feels slightly rushed, a little abrupt, so readers will probably be clamoring for more stories starring Cody and featuring the seemingly star-crossed lovers from different sides of the tracks.

--- Reviewed by Norah Piehl

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Mystery for Older Teens, June 18, 2009

By 

Karen Keyte (Cumberland, ME USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Reality Check (Laura Geringer Books) (Hardcover)

Life is good for Cody Laredo. He's just finished his sophomore year of high school - his first as the starting varsity quarterback - and he eked out passing grades in all of his classes, so he'll be academically eligible to play next season. And next season is the key, as far as getting recruited by a D-1 college football program is concerned. For the summer, Cody's lined up a good job, one that pays better than minimum wage. Best of all, of course, is Clea - his smart, funny, beautiful girlfriend.

So there's Cody on the top of the world and then suddenly, he's not. Angry because she received her first `B' on a report card ever, Clea's father sends her to Hong Kong for the summer and then off to boarding school in the fall, leaving Cody alone and feeling as if he's been gut-punched. Then, at the very beginning of the football season, Cody takes a late hit and suffers a torn ACL. End of season, maybe end of football career, definitely end of chances for a good scholarship.

Now Cody's life seems fairly pointless. All of the things that used to matter most are gone. Just when he's feeling his lowest, Cody sees a newspaper headline that jolts him out of his lethargy. Clea, his ex-girlfriend, has gone missing from her boarding school in Vermont. Driven by an impulse he can't explain, Cody gets in his car and drives from Colorado to Vermont. He's determined to find Clea, or at the very least, get to the bottom of her disappearance.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fast-paced and Suspenseful, May 18, 2009

By 

S. Lee (Dallas/Ft Worth) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Reality Check (Laura Geringer Books) (Hardcover)

Sixteen yr old Cody has hit hard times. His girlfriend is sent away to a private school, he gets injured during a game and can't play football, his grades are a mess, and he's in trouble at work.

When he think things can't get worse, his girlfriend turns up missing from her school; it's all over the news, and the authorities aren't finding any leads. Cody decides to go look for her himself, and discovers that things are not always as they appear.

If you are looking for a well-written page turner, Peter Abrahams delivers with 'Reality Check' - it's a twisty, exciting read!