Customer Reviews

The Terrorist (Point)

5 star:		(47)
4 star:		(36)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(22)

 

 

As mentioned above, The Terrorist was definately a mixed bag. The story line was exellent and Billy was the most exciting and character I've seen for a long time. Honestly though, besides the plot and Billy, the story takes a nosedive. The sterotypes were very annoying to read; about America and Muslims. I'm not muslim; but I could see the that they were being unfairly portrayed as primative, violent, woman beaters. Americans were being portrayed as naive and ignorant.

Besides the slanderous sterotyping, there were many faults with the charaters. Besides Billy (The only original character) I never felt I really got to know any of the characters, they had great potential, they just never did anything with it. I also felt that there were some "hints" of romance that never really developed. I mean, what happened to Andrew, Eddie, and Mohammed ? I gues It's better then her other romances(the two characters would be passionately in love and have only eyes for eachother) but I really expeted to see something. I also felt that I never really got to know Laura and Billy's Parents.

However one good thing is that the story's plot, characters, ect. were not based on past books.(Like Burning Up, very, very similar to Face on the Milk Carton Series) Nope the charaters do seem genuine. Another thing is; No more suburban Connecticut! It was refreshing to be in England instead of a well-to-do neighborhood in Connecticut

So... All in all, I would read this book, It has such a riveting plot and the characters do fairly well, just ignore the sterotypes!

i also found this book very sterotypical. i knew the terriost was going to end up to be a muslim very early in the story altough i was really hoping by maybe some chance the muslims wouldn't be the "bad guys" this time a along.I liked the book and all but I think the book would of been way better is she actually did a bit of research because She apparently has no idea how modern muslims live. Because lots of muslim girls get educated go to college get jobs date and marry guys the want and dont dress head to toe.

Laura's brother is killed by a package bomb handed to him in a busy subway, while he is chasing after his friends. The police and FBI have no clue who did it. So now it's Laura's responsibility to find who killed her brother. Everyone she knows is a suspect in Billy's murder, including her friends. Laura has two questions that she wants to clear. Who would want to kill her brother and who will be their next victim. To find out who killed Laura's brother, you must go out and get this book. It will have you in a shock.

This book degrades the islamic religion. It makes Muslim's look bad, in the eyes of the people. ...

Clooney's use of the English language is more than acceptable, but it is evident that she knows next to nothing about the Middle East, Islam or even terrorists. Any book which reinforces ignorance in such a manner can not be recommended, especially for children.

This book was very discriminating against the Muslim religion and it sounded like Americans are supposed to be the top race in the world, but at the same time they are also naive in other people's eyes, at least in "The Terrorist". I did not like the way the book was written. It was confusing and lacked detail. It was pretty unrealistic when it came to students with mixed races. I myself go to an international school, although not quite as international as LIA (the school Laura and Billy went to), and you have friends no matter what country you're from, and nobody criticizes you the way the kids criticized each other in this book. I didn't much enjoy this at all, and I'm not exactly planning to buy any more of Ms. Cooney's books if all of them are going to be written in the same weird style.

This is the most culturally obscene attack on Islam that I have ever heard of. It endorses stereotypes about Muslims, and it does nothing more that reinforce in young people what we do not need more of--vicious ethnic attacks under the guise of "literature," designed to influence the minds of young readers.

After reading this book, all I can say is that I am sick to my stomach. This book does nothing but endorse false stereotypes that Islam is a womanizing religion full of violent terrorists. The scariest part is that this book has found its way onto many middle school's lists of books to read! Here is one disgusting excerpt that really made me cringe: Page 111 - "Islam. You thought that religion was a pact between you and God, but it wasn't...Men who hated women. Men who wanted women literally locked in their clothes and their homes." Anyone who has been around Muslims knows this is not true. Yet why does Ms. Cooney wish to force this view unto the middle school students who this book is targeted for? I would really like to sit down with Ms. Cooney and explain to her the true meaning of Islam....

The book tells the story of one American girl's stay at a school in London and how a terrorist bombing affects her life. Prior to the bombing, her biggest concern was the next school dance. After, she finds how important it is to understand world events and how her new suspicion of all foriegners taints her good judgement...almost fatally. This book was a quick read. I picked it up intending to read a few pages, but couldn't put it down until I was half way through. Some might find the journey this young girl takes to be disturbing, but the book is age-level appropriate for 7-9th grade, and deals with serious issues like death, trust, fear, and cross cultural mis-conceptions.

I read this book a few years ago, and afterwards it went on my bookshelf. Being in highschool now my room had grown into a mess of books, papers, and other miscellaneous objects over the years. In the process of cleaning it, i came across this book. I decided to read it again. I enjoyed the book even more now! The foreshadowing in it is easier to pick up at this age. It's slighty bizarre that in this book a bombing has taken place and the protagonist suspects someone from an Islamic Middle-Eastern country. So many of the points stated in the book foreshadowed September 11th. Despite the eeriness of it, The Terrorist is a decent, enticing, quick read.