Shattering Glass [Library Binding]

Gail Giles (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 18, 2008

FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. When Rob, the charismatic leader of the senior class, turns the school nerd into Prince Charming, his actions lead to unexpected violence.

--This text refers to the School & Library Binding edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Fat, clumsy Simon Glass is a textbook geek, and all three of Rob's posse hates him, each for his own reasons. But Rob is driven by the need to prove his power, and so he decrees that they will take on the seemingly impossible task of making Simon popular. They take him shopping for a better look, get his hair styled, teach him how to behave. Rob extracts painful sacrifices and uneasy moral compromises to achieve the goal, but each of his followers has a hidden empty place and a related secret that holds them in bondage to his manipulations. Soon Simon is on his reluctant way to becoming Class Favorite, but then he begins to show a dark, cruel side, and an ability to do what the others can't--defy Rob. The complex interlocking motivations of these five move the story inexorably to a startling bloody catharsis.

In an enthralling first novel that evokes William Golding's Lord of the Flies and Robert Cormier's The Chocolate War, Gail Giles's Shattering Glass employs a brilliantly original structure to layer present and future in an exploration of the consequences of following a charismatic but amoral leader. (Ages 12 and older) --Patty Campbell --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

In this suspenseful, disturbing debut novel, a high school clique's plans to make over a social outcast go tragically awry. Quotes at the opening of each chapter foretell the disaster to come. Thaddeus R. Steward IV, nicknamed "Young," who is an aspiring writer, narrates the tale. As it opens, Rob Haynes, an out-of-state transfer student with good looks and seemingly unshakable confidence, quickly ascends to alpha male, ousting reigning king of popularity, Lance Ansley. But, as Lance puts it, "[Rob] wasn't happy to have it all, he had to make sure I didn't have anything." By contrast, Rob wants to position Simon Glass, a "textbook geek," so that his peers will vote Simon "Class Favorite." Simon appears to go along with the new clothes and haircut, but he has some ideas of his own. When Simon and Young discover a secret about Rob's past, one of them seeks to use it, the other to protect it. Unfortunately, the novel follows so many characters that readers do not get to know any one of them well. Ronna, Young's girlfriend, provides the most insightful commentary; speaking of Rob's plan to transform Simon, she says, "Instead of making Rob more, doesn't it just make all of us... less?" Such probing questions are overshadowed by the novel's larger events and the sheer number of characters. Still, the thriller plot and breakneck pacing will keep readers hooked and on the lookout for this author's next book. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Library Binding: 215 pages
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439548846
• ISBN-13: 978-1439548844
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (79 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,105,133 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Glass menagerie, September 14, 2004

By 

E. R. Bird "Ramseelbird" (Manhattan, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Shattering Glass (Paperback)

There are plenty of books out there in which a group of high school students end up accidentally, or otherwise, killing either a classmate or a schoolteacher. Usually there's a great amount of build up to the event. Maybe it's a mystery that you reach at the end. Maybe the kids are innocent of the crime and it's all about clearing their names. In the case of "Shattering Glass", however, the protagonist Young Steward does away with any and all misunderstandings right from the start. "Simon Glass was easy to hate. I never knew exactly why, there was too much to pick from. I guess, really, we each hated him for a different reason, but we didn't realize it until the day we killed him". And we're off!

Four good buddies, Young, Rob, Bob, and Coop are the top of the pecking order at B'Vale High School. They're handsome, popular, and all around respected fellows. Rob is the unquestioned leader of the group, so when he proposes a crazy quest nobody raises any objections. Rob has honed in on one Simon Glass, the resident loser of the school. Glass is fat, uncool, and socially backward. For Rob the ultimate challenge becomes the success of Simon Glass. He becomes obsessed with it, using all his charm and resources to persuade people to help him in his crazy scheme. Ever the follower, Young doesn't question Rob's goals. Not even when he discovers the dark secret hiding in his best friend's past. By the time the book reaching its horrifying conclusion you've already learned what happens to the four friends and the unfortunate Simon Glass.

The book isn't a whodunit. It's a towhatextentdunit. By reading the little quotes that appear at the beginning of each chapter the reader begins to get a sense of what happened the night of Simon's death. The question isn't what happened so much as it is, "Who was involved?". It's more, "To what extent was Young involved?". Giles is the master of the slow reveal. She gives us just enough information throughout the story to be interested. Then she'll toss in the occasional tantalizing detail just to suck us deeper into the story. Best of all, Giles never creates a character without there being some kind of backstory involved. If someone does something cruel or unfeeling, you can probably bet they've their own problems hidden away somewhere. What I liked best of all was the character of Glass himself. Simultaneously a victim and a victimizer, the object of everyone's attention turns out to be far cannier than anyone ever suspected. In a way, I saw this book as a kind of updated "The Chocolate War". In both cases a charming teen at the height of his school's society feels a need to keep himself at the top of the pecking order through the rigid control of others. The only difference is, in "The Chocolate War" the villain decides to destroy a fellow student. In this book, he aims to recreate him. And the results are almost identical.

Giles has debuted with a powerful first novel. The book isn't, for the record, actually as good as "The Chocolate War", but it is the rare young adult novel that makes you think. There's a lot of power behind Giles' words and her characters are a fascinating study. As a former substitute teacher, she's aware of her subject matter and their social constraints. Best of all, the book never falls into that old trap of an adult writing for teens and including lots of "hip" teen slang. The closest this book ever comes to slang is the occasional "Yo!". I can live with that. In the end, "Shattering Glass" deserves its praise. It may not be the nicest book about teen popularity out there, but it's certainly not the cruelest.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It will keep you guessing until the last page...literally!, February 8, 2004

By 

Alyssa Nolan (New Hampshire, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shattering Glass (Paperback)

"Shattering Glass" is a suspenseful novel written by Gail Giles about the murder of a high school senior named Simon Glass. The book is narrated by a straight-A student named Young Steward. He's one of the most popular boys in Simon's school, but only because he's a close friend of the even more popular and charismatic Rob Haynes. Simon is a geek who's hated by just about the entire student body, but Rob has other plans for him. He decides to make it his mission to turn Simon into the most liked kid in the whole school. Simon goes along with it at first, but it isn't long before the newly confident Simon starts coming up with some devious plans of his own.

On the very first page of the first chapter of this book, Young admits that he himself and his friends are the ones responsible for murdering Simon. So a book can't be very exciting when you already know the ending, right? Well, you'd be surprised. "Shattering Glass" has an incredibly suspenseful storyline filled with twists and surprises that I never even saw coming! You'll be so anxious to know when, how, and especially why the murder occurred that it will probably be hard to put the book down! Young retells the events leading up to the killing with such emotion and detail that you might even find yourself feeling more pity for him than for Simon. At the beginning of every chapter are quotes from people somehow associated with the murderers or the victim. The quotes are from many years after the incident occurred, and by reading these statements and opinions you can slowly piece together exactly what happened on the fateful day of Simon's death.

"Shattering Glass" is a very entertaining book that I would recommend to everyone. A lot of the issues dealt with in this story can really make you view people in an entirely different way. It gives you a first-hand look into the darker side of high school popularity, while constantly reminding you that nothing is ever as it appears.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not Enough Food for Thought, July 31, 2005

By 

H. Stewart "librarystudent" - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Shattering Glass (Paperback)

Author Gail Giles takes a well worn plot line - turning the class loser into Mr. Popularity - and turns it into a much deeper exploration of power, conformity, and boundaries. Simon Glass is pretty much a stereotypical senior class loser; overweight, smart beyond comprehension, poorly dressed, nervous, and clumsy. Rob Haynes has been the most popular senior in school ever since he waltzed into town about a year ago and effortlessly stole that honor from Lance Ansley. The novel begins with Lance attempting to recapture some attention from his classmates by humiliating Simon. This quickly rubs Rob the wrong way, and he enlists his three closest friends and biggest fans, Young, Coop, and Bob, to help him transform Simon from a loser to a popular part of their social set. The usual makeover scenes occur, and Rob helps Simon find ways to befriend each of the boys in their social scene, from taking the ACTs for Coop to fixing Young's schedule in the school's computer so that his father won't know he's taking a Creative Writing class. But things begin to turn around ever so slightly when Rob becomes obsessed with getting Simon elected Most Popular. Rob begins to ask enormous favors from his friends, including asking Young to dump his girlfriend so that Simon can take her to the senior Favorite's Dance. And Simon himself has begun to act differently. He's standing up to Rob in small ways, and he's careful to remind each boy he's ever helped that he could always undo the favor. In the middle of these events, Simon and Young make a startling discovery about Rob. Tipped off by a name discrepancy in Rob's file, the two head to the library where they discover that Rob moved from a nearby town shortly after his father was convicted of sexually abusing him for nearly six years, contrary to the lies Rob had told upon his arrival. When Simon pulls his most daring act of defiance against Rob, the situation grows extremely violent. Simon then reveals Rob's secrets to the group of friends and ultimately pays the price with his life.

This title was well named as an ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers, as it's certainly a page turner. The structure of the novel gives just the right amount of mystery, and the opening quotes from various people in the community are a very nice touch.

Giles sets up a structure within the novel that asks readers to consider how different individuals "patch a hole" in other people, by doing or saying something that soothes a deep and secret worry or fear. We see Rob do this for Young, we're to assume that he's been able to do that same thing for the other boys in his close clique of friends, and we see Rob helping Simon try to do the same thing for the boys with his craftily chosen favors. So Rob becomes the mystery. Why is Rob so determined to elevate Simon's social status? Why is he so determined to take Lance to the depths of loser-dom? The only clue that Giles gives us is the information that Rob's father sexually abused him for many years, and the narrator leads us to suspect that Rob is trying to somehow patch a hole inside himself with the Simon situation. Suffice to say that there's a lot of room for thinking between the questions and the clue, and quite frankly, I think it's too much room. As well-written and fast-paced as this book is, I really wanted a more thoughtful look into how Rob's past led him to the actions in this book. The psychological implications of sexual abuse are tossed about here in a fashion too casual for quality literature, and with a few well chosen paragraphs Giles could have moved the reader into a far more respectful place of curiosity about the relationship between sexual abuse and violence. Given the shallow depth of each character and the likewise superficial exploration of the troubling circumstances that led to a terrible crime, I think most readers will close the last page on this book without much backward reflection.