Gail Giles

Brilliant, moving book told in alternating chapters by two girls who have just graduated from the special ed program at their school. One has had brain damage inflicted on her by her drug addicted mother's boyfriend. The other was born with learning difficulties and has had a baby that she has had to give away. Set in a small town in the US. This is a harrowing story from two angles - one girl is afraid to look pretty and be nice or even talk to the opposite sex in case she is raped again. show more The other girl is so defensive and super tough that it means she is indeed attacked and raped. In between these two girls is the well meaning miss Lizzy who offers them a home and a job and, after a few mistakes ( i.e she is a bit patronizing) steps up and helps the two girls stand up for what is right and good.

AS the mother of a disabled son (Autism) I found this a moving and insightful look into how the disabled perceive themselves....those with enough intelligence to understand the concept of id without the smarts to protect themselves nor understand what is really happening around them. I highly recommend this to anyone who works or cares for high functioning intellectually disabled young adults...especially girls. show less

Like most novels by this modern master of the YA psychological thriller, Giles lets the reader know right up front the "crime" — a young woman (Cass McBride) has been buried alive. The story unfolds in three voices: Cass, the perp Kyle, and the detective trying to find out where Cass is buried. This is a masterwork of plotting and of character development. Readers learn how Kyle is buried by the burden of his family history, mostly the suicide of his brother David which he blames on Cass. show more But also Cass is buried by both parents' expectations and her suffocating arrogance. Thus, the reader's sympathy may lie with the tortured psychopath, not the victim. While there will never be another Robert Cormier, Giles is a worthy successor in writing books that make readers jump out of their own skins while crawling around in the twisted souls and skins of others. Review originally appeared in Novelist. show less

Nicely written tight, with a good voice and plenty of humor on what is a terrifying and very realistic story. A male version of [b:Carrie|10592|Carrie|Stephen King|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1166254258s/10592.jpg|1552134], but with a nebbish, Simon, who knows how to stand up for himself -- and ends up paying dearly for it. Really good for boys especially.,

Cass McBride wakes up in a box. She's been buried alive by Kyle, who blames her for his brother, David's suicide. And he's not that wrong to do it. David asked Cass out and she sort of blew him off (in a nice way) but then wrote a note for her best friend totally making fun of him in about the meanest way possible. And then David found the note.

Then he wrote a note of his own, pinned it to his body (no, I don't mean his shirt--I mean his BODY) and hanged himself. In the front yard.

So Kyle show more wants to teach Cass a lesson. He drugs her, kidnaps her and buries her alive.

This book is beyond intense. I couldn't read it fast enough (I wanted to know if Cass would somehow manage to escape and if she did, if she'd become a better person for the experience). It's not for the fainthearted, but wow. Intense and compelling and all those other book blogger cliches I should probably stop using. show less