Song of an Innocent Bystander (Hardcover)

by Ian Bone (Author) "One bitterly cold afternoon, a handful of customers lingered inside the Family Value hamburger restaurant on Grange Street, their meals finished, their welcome scattered in..." (more)
Key Phrases: John Wayne O'Grady, Theo Constantine, Freda Opperman (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal
Grade 10 Up–Freda, 19, was held hostage ten years ago during a gunman's siege of a restaurant in this psychological novel by Ian Bone (Dutton, 2004). When Freda agrees to be interviewed about the incident, the reporter stirs up memories that she had long suppressed. The story is told in alternating sections and from different points of view: Freda today, Freda at the time of the siege, the gunman, and sections titled Napkin that were written by another hostage. The tangled plot and multiple viewpoints as well as the shift back and forth between first and third person make for a confusing, yet compelling listen. The story spirals more and more out of control during Freda's meeting with the reporter. Who is the reporter and how does he know so much about the incident? What is on the napkins? What exactly happened during the siege? Caroline Lee reads with pitch perfect emotion as she captures the young Freda's precarious situation and feelings, as well as the teen's apathy that slowly turns to growing rage. Lee's rendition of gunman John Wayne O'Grady's increasingly unstable behavior is also spot on. Teens who like slowly paced, complicated, involved plots will probably enjoy this novel.–Charli Osborne, Oxford Public Library, MI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist
Gr. 10-12. Australian writer Bone's murky novel about the ramifications of a hostage crisis on one of its survivors isn't easy to follow, but its unsettling depiction of a child's growing dependency on the madman who held her hostage is hard to forget. The novel opens 10 years after 9-year-old Freda became a media sensation when she was carried from the restaurant where she (and others) had been held captive. Now, as Freda prepares to face life without the protection of her mother, a strange young man appears. He knows intimate details of what occurred those years ago, including some things Freda has never revealed and tried to forget. The convoluted story unfolds gradually--through angst-ridden Freda herself, third-person sections devoted to troubled gunman John Wayne O'Grady, and, appearing midway through the story, notes on napkins written by the restaurant's manager. Motivations and plot manipulations won't bear close scrutiny (Freda's carving a wooden revolver--what's all that about?), but her struggle to separate from her mother and handle the burdensome guilt she has carried for a decade is compelling enough to keep readers involved. Stephanie Zvirin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Juvenile (June 3, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525472827
• ISBN-13: 978-0525472827
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,905,547 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Better then they say, August 30, 2008

By	S. Moreau "SueQue" (Missouri) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Song of An Innocent Bystander (Speak) (Paperback)

I am not saying this is a literary masterpiece...but it is a good book. I an hesitant to recommend it to younger kids though - it is rather dark. As a middle aged woman I would say it is too dark and deep to be fully understood by kids.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Painful to read, July 11, 2007

By	Ashlee Campbell - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I agree. The author seemed to try to write deeply and it came out horribly. I had never found a truely awful book before this one. I couldn't bring myself to finish it. Spare yourself.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Could have been MUCH better. , February 6, 2006

By	Arrowcase (Eastern Shore) - See all my reviews

I'm not in the habit of bashing books, but seriously, reading this book was like watching a suspense movie on fast-forward. That's to say there were a lot of good scenes, but they were so rushed, and disconnected that it was very hard to follow. The characters were flat, and there wasn't one that I could relate too, especially not Freda which is sad because she is the main character. The story seemed unrealistic at times, and so hastily thrown together that I found myself reading it only because I didn't want to waste the $6 bucks I spent on it. I would recommend checking it out of the library or borrowing a copy from someone if you MUST read it.