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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Monsters Aren't Always Imaginary,
By A Customer
This review is from: Are You in the House Alone? (Laurel-Leaf Mystery) (Paperback)
The scariest kinds of stories are the ones that could easily happen to you. Unfortunately, Are You in the House Alone? is one of them. It is the story of a high school junior named Gail who is relentlessly stalked, then raped. Her rapist doesn't bother to disguise his identity -- he doesn't need to, because he knows he won't be brought to justice by a society which views sexually active women as "asking for it." But the terror doesn't end there; after recovering from her physical injuries, Gail has her emotional scars repeatedly ripped open at her high school, where she is forced to see her attacker every day, never knowing if...or when...he will strike again. This a daring premise for a young adult novel; thankfully, Peck doesn't soften it by making the tone shrill, preachy or simplistic. Like any good suspense story, each and every one of his characters have complex motivations that drive them to make sometimes surprising and often tragic decisions. But the real secret to this book's excellence is its plot: tight, seamless, and riveting. As terrifying as the story is at times, you simply HAVE to push your fears aside and find out what happens next. The icing on the cake is Peck's talent for creating a chilling atmosphere that is almost gothic without being over the top. Read the prologue and you'll see what I mean. His portrayal of high school is particularly insightful -- the students range from rich, popular athletes to working class intellectuals to ostracized bohemian artists; you'll probably recognize some of them from your own school. I highly recommend Are You in the House Alone? for anyone wanting a scary read that will keep you looking over your shoulders for weeks after.
24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Sad But True,
By
This review is from: Are You in the House Alone? (Paperback)
I read this book when I was fifteen, and I think it would make me sick if I were to read it now. But more about that later. The main character, Gail, is not portrayed as a saint but rather as a sexually active sixteen year old-this makes it hard for some people, I suppose. Secretly, whether we will admit it or not, it's harder for some of us to empathize with a sexually active character who, as the rapist points out, isn't even wearing a bra when he attacks her. Grr, darn that Richard Peck, exposing our prejudices!Honestly, Gail isn't a very likable character. She's kind of selfish, kind of manipulative, kind of meanly sarcastic...I think that's why I liked her so much. She's real. When she starts getting threatening notes and phone calls, she doesn't know what to do, and so, as most people would, she doesn't do much of anything. At this point we're screaming at the book to try to get her to do something, because we know what's coming. But the greatest strength of this novel is that it makes us wonder what we would do in a similar situation. The most frustrating thing about this book is that it seems to carry the message that there's nothing we CAN do. Gail tries to defend herself but fails. She tries to punish the man responsible, but fails. Maybe that's reality, but not only is it extremely frustrating, it's a BAD message to send to victims:Don't try to prosocute your attacker, the justice system is against you. I don't think that's necessarily the message that Mr. Peck was trying to get accross, but that's how I felt when reading the book. That's why I can't give this book more than three stars. It's good, the characters seem real, but it's hard to like any of them, and by the end you're pulling your hair out over the unfairness at all. Maybe I should give the book extra points for eliciting such a strong emotional response-I can see that I'm not alone, given the other reviews on this site. In that case, give it four stars. This book is compelling, and it's definately worth reading, but be forewarned about these messages before you read: the justice system is often unjust, it's hard to find people you can trust, and survival is a difficult and painful process.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well-written and painfully true.,
By "kallah" (Springfield, IL) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Are You in the House Alone? (Paperback)
This is a dramatic, true-to-life book. The characters are believable, the aftermath played out perfectly, and the story tense and tautly written.Yes, the book is about rape. Yes, there's injustice in the book. And I suspect that's very much the author's point. There is a lot of injustice in life, and you have to choose your battles wisely to have an effect on it. And as to the girl not pressing charges because the guy's rich ... sadly, that's all too real. Most of us figure out very young that money matters. It matters in rape too. Since the girl in the book wasn't wealthy herself, severely injured, or a virgin, her attacker would most likely never have been convicted. Sad, revolting, but extremely true, and very well handled.
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