Customer Reviews

The Watcher

5 star:		(53)
4 star:		(36)
3 star:		(21)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

The plot of this book is somewhat different from most novels,which gives it a tone of originality. The setting is a vacationbeach. The story is told from three pertinent viewpoints; three different characters, each with deep troubles. Evan, one of these characters, is a fourteen year old boy vacationing with his sister and parents. He privately names Margaret, another main character, "The Watcher," because she constantly, eerily observes his family. Margaret is a bony girl with loose, dirty brown hair; Evan's mother sees as her as a "Broken Seashell." Chris, a lifeguard on the beach, tells his own sardonic story. His is slightly adjacent to the main plot, yet Chris is clearly a significant character. The three different narratives give the reader contrasting angles of the events.

The characters have almost no connection to one another; they have nothing in common, they never converse. Yet, by the end of the book, the author, oddly enough, has drawn them together. Each character has a loss, a sadness; a deep link to one another. And finally, within the last memorable scene of the book, they are drawn together in a haunting attempt to heal their wounds.

I found this book to be poignant and moving. By each of the characters, the novel is told with a deep sense of pain. The description is stunning; the characters are developed and real to the reader. The author boldly explores genuine human emotions with a haunting sense of realism. The novel stayed with me long after the last page had been turned. The Watcher is an unforgettable novel that has a justified and deserved spot on every teen's bookshelf.

James Howe's novel, The Watcher, was nothing less than fascinating. It is a serious story about a broken, abused girl who finds comfort in watching the world rather than participating in it. As she sits on the beach scribbling in her notebook, she watches two young men and fabricates stories of their `perfect' lives, which are both far from perfect. Evan, a young teenage boy, fights to unlock the mystery of why his parents are getting divorced. Chris, the lifeguard, is just looking for his place in life.

Both boys notice "the watcher," Margaret, and make up their own stories about what's wrong with her. At the climax, their lives become intertwined and their troubles and struggles are revealed.

The book is beautifully written. It is extremely intense and emotional. It is the essence of the theme of `living in fear.' I recommend it for adolescent reading, grades 8-12. I further recommend it to middle and high school teachers. Heartbreaking as it is, these are the kids we teach on a daily basis....

A tear-jerking novel by James Howe is "The Watcher." Evan is a yong teen-aged boy who fears his parents are going to get a divorce. Chris is a life guard who is desperately struggling to find his place in his family, what he should do with his life, and is still grieving his brothers death. Margaret is an abused, lonely girl, and who tries to be invisible while observing the life around her instead on participating in it.
Margaret sits on the beach everyday and just watches all the people. While she watches these people she writes in her little book about what she thinks of them and what she thinks their lives are like. Of course, she always assumes their lives are much better than hers.
The two boys both notice her sitting at the beach alone, watching, and writing. What they don't know is, is that she is very abused by her father and needs to be rescued. They can't understand why she just watches and never plays herself. All three of them eventually come together in a horrific and saddening climax in the story.
This is a wonderfully written book with an acception of some foul language. I recommend this book to anyone from about 8-12 grade who thinks their life is bad or just needs a good cry.

My middle school students and I just finished reading/studying Howe's book. Wowee! We loved it! Summer school can sometimes be a downer, but Howe's book united my students in getting involved in reading a great book.

The characters' varied perspectives offer readers a glimpse into the lives, goals, and relationships of others, and my students made thoughtful connections and predictions throughout the novel. While the book's realism may disturb younger readers, I feel that middle school students to adults of any any age will benefit from reading THE WATCHER. Several students commented that they will now look at others who are "different" in a more sensitive way.

After finishing the book, my students speculated about the outcome of the lives of Margaret, Evan, Chris, Margaret's dad, and others. They want Howe to write Part Two or more like this book! Reading the book together and stopping periodically to discuss, take notes, complete activities, etc. stimulated my summer school class's involvement and enjoyment of this great read! Slowing down the reading process (taking time to smell the roses...in this case, the sea) encouraged my students to relate to the characters and events of Howe's great book. I recommend it to anyone who wants to experience a realistic slice of young adult life today.

The Watcher is a thrilling realistic fiction book, with a problem that breaks your heart. The main character, Margaret (the watcher), lives on a small island, which is a vacation place to many. Throughout the book she watches a family with two parents and two kids, Evan (15) and Callie (6). This family is always so happy and loving, which Margaret envies. To Margaret this is the perfect family everyone dreams of, including herself.
She also watches a hunky lifeguard (Chris) who is a little out of it these days, but she still has a secret crush on him. The problem of this story is easy to find, just pay attention to what Margaret watches, and in the end you'll find out why she watches what she does. I would definitely have to say the theme of the book is the love in a family, and wanting to be loved. I would recommend this book to girls in 5th grade and up.

When I went to my local bookstore i picked up this book, read the back, and just bought it never totally taking it seriously..but when actually sat down to read it I was surprised at how wonderful and beautifully written it was. It was definitely one of those books that i picked up and literally could not put down, I had to go to bed before I was able to finish it, but I woke myself up early the next morning to finish the remaining pages..it was amazingly captivating. I'm pretty sure the back cover describes the book better than i could, so i'll just leave the description up to that. I would Definitely reccomend this book..I can't imagine anyone who wouldn't like it.

The Watcher is one of the most amazing and beautifuly written books I've read. Words cannot express this book, but I'll try. Margaret is "the watcher", a mysterious girl who is commonly found sitting by the beach, just watching. Nobody really knows anything about her, they think she's just some weird kid. But really Margaret's life is complicated and tormenting. She is stuck in a deep, dark hole and can't escape. Her mind weaves stories of perfect familes and perfect lives, made up of the "perfect" people she sees on the beach. But are these people really so perfect? Margaret is intrigued by Chris, a seemingly care-free lifeguard. To some he appears shallow, even stupid. Really, his life is constanly being tormented by a memory which isn't even there, a memory of his brother which he lost even before he was born. Then there's Evan. Evan lives a seemlingly perfect life. He spends his time with his little sister Callie and his seeminlgy perfect parents. But behind their cheery faces, his family is in great pain. His little sister is constantly worried about her parents fighting, and their parents are constantly trying to hide their unhappiness from their children. How could all these charectars, who seem so different, really be so close? This book is, once again, amazing. The ending is thought provoking and ties everything together. I urge you to PLEASE read this book. It will stay on your mind long after you've finished it.

There is a strange, lonely, teenage girl who sits and stares at people on the beach. On the same island there is a self-conscious boy going through the trouble of watch his parents get divorced. There is also another teenage boy who had never met his brother before he drowned in pool. Then their worlds meet and everything becomes clear. In this book there is an abused and confused girl who sits and watches certain people at the beach. Each of the particular people that she observes, including herself, has a traumatic experience that has happened or is happening in their life. They all end up together in the same house, at the same stage in their lives: rehabilitation. The girl's father finally gets arrested, the boy forgets about his brother's death and stops drinking and partying, and the other boy's parents end up staying together. The Watcher, by James Lowe, is a good book that was written well but could have had a better storyline.
This book was very good about realistically depicting teenagers. It showed how there is peer pressure when Shane basically forces Evan to steal a pair of sunglasses. There was also a sense of peer pressure when Chris buys into drinking and getting high.
The book's storyline could have been better. The storyline jumped around a little bit too much for me. The three stories blended well but it was only about one thing. It was about three kids who unexpectedly find each other together in the same house and all become better people in general and friends also.
The other thing about this book was that it was written very well. The time when the girl's father was drowning her by shoving her head inside a full sink was written very well. This was because the author purposely used run-on sentences that showed suspense.
I thought The Watcher, by James Lowe, was very interesting. Although the storyline could have been written a little bit better, the book was good. The emotions in this story were brought out very well.

Tim A.

This book was one of the best books I have ever read. It helped me and others to understand that everything in life is not what it appears to be. In this book, for instance, Evan and Callie's family looked like a perfect family, but Jeff and Karen were thinking about getting a divorce. The Watcher also looked like a pretty normal girl , but at her father abused her at home. This book is a very descriptive book. James Howe makes it a lot easier to understand the characters life from their point of view. The way he described the Watcher showed her lack of self-esstem and how lonely she was. I hope that everyone that reads this book will enjoy it as much has I did.

This book was decent in my opinion. I wouldn't recommend it to younger ages to read. I didn't like the fact that the writer skipped around characters, although the book was called "The Watcher" it wasn't just based on one person, it hardly even talked about her or also known as the watcher, it mostly talked about another character in the book called Evan. Other than that I liked the fact that the author wrote it so that it seemed real, he used real life incidents that could really accrue. This book made you feel like you were reading something that really happened even though it was fiction. I definitely recommend this book to the older readers because of the language used in it.