Rundown [Hardcover]

Michael Cadnum (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1999

As a game, sixteen-year-old Jennifer pretends that she has been attacked by a serial rapist, but then she finds herself getting more attention than she wanted, from the police and her parents.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Sophisticated teens will savor this psychological thriller by the author of Calling Home and In a Dark Wood. Set in the wealthy, self-indulgent Northern California culture that teens may interpret as the dark side of Clueless, Michael Cadnum skewers with deadly accuracy obsessions with body image, exquisite food, and the right clothes--and reveals the unspoken rage of kids who are given everything but attention. Cadnum's oblique but concrete style works to great advantage in this enigmatic story as he uses vivid images to convey experience--sights, sounds, smells, and tastes--but leaves the motivations of characters blank for the reader to fill in.

We witness Jennifer jogging at dusk, coolly flinging herself into the thorny blackberry brambles, tumbling down a slope, pausing to slam her hand against a pole, and then continuing up the road to find a police car and report that she has been the victim of an attempted rape. But why has she so carefully constructed this lie? Is it aimed at her beautiful and preoccupied parents, her domineering older sister, the boyfriend who has moved away, or her own emptiness? The deception soon takes over her life, and as a police detective backs her into a corner, Jennifer realizes there is only one way out. (Ages 14 and older) --Patty Campbell

From Publishers Weekly

Readers will likely be both fascinated and repelled by the intricate web of deception woven by the 16-year-old narrator of this sometimes confusing psychological drama. Cadnum (Heat) shows rather than tells Jennifer's desperate need for affection and attention when she meticulously fakes an attack by a serial rapist, then reports it to the police. Her story about fending off the man gains her publicity and sympathy, but instead of feeling gratified, she suffers pangs of guilt and moments of panic. Her twisted relationships with her highly successful parents, her self-centered older sister and her ex-boyfriend are slowly revealed, providing insight into her personality. During the investigation of the case, Jennifer is terrified of being found out. At the same time, she longs to be freed from her lies. The author uses bold, dramatic strokes to paint a haunting portrait of his protagonist and, in his characteristically elliptical style, leaves plenty of blank space for readers to fill in. But while the pacing is as taut as ever, the narrative lacks the cohesion of Cadnum's best worksAreaders may wish that the author had shaded in some of the gaps. Ages 12-up. (June)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 168 pages
• Publisher: Viking Juvenile; 1St Edition edition (June 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670883778
• ISBN-13: 978-0670883776
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,113,846 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Michael Cadnum is the author of thirty-five books, including the National Book Award finalist The Book of the Lion.  A two-time Edgar Allen Poe Award nominee, and an award-winning poet, Cadnum's work is widely acclaimed.

He lives in Albany, California, across the bay from San Francisco, with his wife Sherina.

For more of the latest on Cadnum and his work visit his website www.MichaelCadnum.com
 

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An interesting premise, but runs out of steam, December 8, 1999

By 

John Zittel (Phoenixville, Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rundown (Hardcover)

I enjoyed the beginning of the book and was intrigued by Jennifer's staged crime. She seems to gain the attention she wanted but guilt soon consumes her. Most of the book after that seems to drag on. Several supporting characters offer sympathy to Jennifer, but not much happens to let us get to know these people very well. I agree with Horn Book's review that the characters are too sketchily drawn to care much about them or their motivations. I was hoping for a more emotionally charged novel but it seems to go flat in the middle and gets annoying at the end. What should have been an emotionally suspenseful ending just didn't tug at my emotions. I give Rundown three stars for it's strong beginning and interesting conflict, but it it got tired quickly. Needs Wheaties.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Misogynistic tripe, August 21, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Rundown (Hardcover)

The writer is really out of touch with what it means to be a girl. Many unimaginative writers fall in the trap of using rape as a plot device because they can't imagine anything more dramatic happening in a girl's life. In this case, it's a false rape. I can't think of anything less creative nor less realistic. It's ironic that the cover depicts a healthy, strong, & athletic girl when the book depicts girls as needy, weak, & selfish.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Boring...and amazing., March 10, 2000

By 

David L. Hawkins "zackarcher" (Woodbridge, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rundown (Hardcover)

There were times when I really loved this book, and there were other where it was just too boring. Rundown is an ok book with a great premise behind it. If more if it appealed to me, I'd rate it higher. Also, the ending was terrible. Its still something that doesn't set right with me. It makes no sense.

This one had the chance to be amazing...but it just didn't work out.