Blank Confession

Wow! I wonder where Hautman came up with this idea. Shayne Blank came to town one day on his BMW motorcycle and things would never quite be the same. He befriends Mikey, a slight high school boy who wears suits and has a big mouth and not very many friends. When Jon Brande starts bullying Mikey, Shayne decides to take matters into his own hands. Great psychological thriller.

Wow, I had to power through this book to find out what happened!

Good suspense. The story involves a teenager who comes to the police with quite a story - he may have killed someone. Who? Besides following the narrative of Shayne Blank in the interview room at the station, we also follow the narrative of Mike Martin, another student at school. A lot happens to this group of teenagers in this short book, much of it involving the drug dealer, Jon.

Fast paced and interesting.

Shayne Blank walks into the police station and confesses that he committed a murder to Detective George Rawls. In alternating chapters we hear about the murder from Shayne's lips and events from the view of Mike Martin, an undersized, overdressed high school student whose sister, Marie, is dating drug dealer Jon. When police show up at the school with drug sniffing dogs, Jon shoves a bag into Mike's backpack. Suspecting that there may be drugs in the bag, Mike dumps it in a garbage can. Of course, Jon wants his bag back the next day, the garbage has been emptied, and trouble really starts for Mike and consequently for his sister.
In rides Shayne on his white horse, er, BMW mortorcycle, to save the day. Like the Lone Ranger he rides in to show more assist the innocent, punish the guilty and ride away without waiting for thanks. Who was that masked man?
A fast read well worth the time. show less

Blank Confession is a fast, fun read. Officer Rawls is interviewing Shayne Blank, who walked into the police station and confessed that he killed somebody. In alternating chapters, Mikey tells what really happened when Shayne started attending his school. Mikey got on the bad side of the local drug dealer, and Shayne kept stepping in to help him. I liked the characters, particularly Mikey, who compensates for being short by dressing in "bar mitzvah suits" and cracking wise.

Shayne Blank is confessing to a murder. From the outset of this short (167 pages) young adult novel, you know that the new-to-town teenager Shayne is ready to tell detective George Rawls everything. But the cop doesn't immediately believe what he's hearing, and it takes almost all 167 pages for the reader to learn what exactly happened. Told in alternating chapters between Shayne in the police interview room and Mikey, a scrawney-suit wearing high schooler who has yet to hit a growth spurt, the novel tells the brief story of how Mikey was bullied by his sister's drug-dealing boyfriend. Mikey's dad is a recovering alcoholic who used to beat his wife and verbally abuse his children; Shayne says his dad is in the military and in a couple show more different fights Shayne shows off ninja-like skills that wows Mikey. The plot is straight-forward and Hautman wastes no words in telling the tale that spans only a couple weeks on the calendar. This suspenseful read will especially appeal to reluctant male readers. show less

Blank Confession was everything that I wanted it to be.

I was in the middle of reading a much larger book and wanted something short that would be quick to read. I also wanted a thriller or mystery because I feel like reading those genres during October. So, I browsed my school library and spotted Blank Confession. It said it was a mystery and it was small with a nice cover; so, I picked it up.

It took me a very short amount of time to read it. Not only was it small, but the story pulled me along and I couldn't put it down. I connected to the characters almost instantly and was intrigued by the mystery of Shayne's identity.

Definitely a good book to get you out of a reading slump, to change things up a little when reading a long series, show more to break up a large book, or really any time. show less

A teenager goes to the police station to report that he just killed someone. The story is told bit by bit, some in third person chapters at the police station and other chapters in first person told by Mikey, a high school student. The boy who is confessing, Shayne, is a new student and he and Mikey become friends just as Mikey is targeted by the local drug dealer who claims Mikey owes him $500 after Mikey threw away the drugs planted on him. Turns out Shayne is awesome at martial arts whose modus operandi is to move from school to school, defending victims and teaching a school bully a lesson before disappearing. The reader (along with the police officer) does not find out who, if anyone, is killed until the very end of the book. show more Shayne was too accomplished at just about everything for me to fully buy into it. However, I can see how the book could reach teen readers who like stories where the good guy wins through smarts, physical superiority, and compassion. show less