Plot Summary
When class outcast Chris Creed disappears without a trace, it seems at first like a joke to Torey Adams and his friends, all of whom tangled with annoying, socially clueless Chris at some point. The disappearance becomes very real, however, after reading Chris’s cryptic last email to the principal, hacked from the school’s computer system. Torey and his friend Ali and her boyfriend Bo, a “boon” (a slur short for boondocks), begin trying to unravel the mystery of whether Chris was murdered, committed suicide, or just plain ran away. But they are soon implicated in the disappearance thanks to their intrusion – Bo in particular, due to his criminal record and history of violence – and Torey finds himself on the other side of that outcast wall where Chris lived his life. As he struggles to prove his own innocence, the fabric of Torey’s safe and familiar life slowly unravels. And the deeper he delves into the mystery of Chris Creed’s disappearance and the secrets of the community around him, the more his eyes are opened in ways he never could have imagined.
Critical Analysis
The mystery of Chris Creed is one that aches to be solved. It is a mystery unlike any other – the exact nature of what happened is not even understood. Has Chris been murdered? Is he a runaway? Did he commit suicide? His disappearance and the controversy surrounding it is beautifully messy and inconvenient. The longer his absence goes on, the more bodies it uproots from the secrecy of this tight knit community. The characters are suspended in an agony of not knowing. Every major character and even the minor ones characters are sharply drawn and very complex. There are no straightforward heroes or villains in this book. The beauty of Plum-Ucci’s story is its ability to reveal the heroes and villains in the individual as they stand up against great strife. Her portrayal of teenagers’ thoughtless cruelty resulting from naivete and innocence is artful, and her stripping away of this innocence will stun the reader. Torey’s coming of age in the face of this tragedy is painful and inspirational and, above all, very real. His character is endearing and stubborn and the reader cringes as he plunges forward into the mystery against better judgment. The ending gathers a momentum that leaves the reader breathless and unable to lift their eyes from the page. The images, the characters, and the brilliantly executed mystery of this book will stay with readers long after it is closed and back on the shelf.
Reader's Annotation
Chris Creed disappears into thin air, leaving Torey Adams and the entire town mystified in the wake of his absence. Torey finds himself sucked deeper into the question of what happened and the further he delves, the more he realizes he does not know the world around him as well as he thought he did.
Author
Carol Plum-Ucci grew up in Atlantic City over the funeral home owned by her father, a mortician. As she is fond of noting, if her bedroom floor had been made of glass, she would have been looking right down at the dead bodies being prepared there. She states that it was in the middle of sleepless nights in this unusual childhood home that she became a writer.
Plum-Ucci has worked as a freelance writer, a ghost writer for six Miss Americas and two CEOs, among others, Assistant to the Producer of Miss America, and Staff Writer and Director of Publications of the Miss America Organization and Miss America Scholarship Foundation. It was the success of The Body of Christopher Creed that allowed her to retire. She has been honored with many awards for her work, including Most Popular Paperback List from YALSA and the Michael L. Printz Honor book award for The Body of Christopher Creed. Currently she is working on a much anticipated sequel to this book.
Genre
Mystery/Suspense - contemporary
Challenge Issues
Possible challenge issues in this book include sex, suicide, violence, underage drinking and smoking, and profanity. In the event of a challenge, I would consult the challenge defense file prepared for this book. The challenge defense file would include: positive reviews from credible sources for the purpose of proving merit to the challenger; negative reviews in order to inform me on what might be challenged; a written explanation of my own rationale for including the book in the collection as well as a summary of the plot; the American Library Association Bill of Rights; a review of my branch’s selection policy; and, as a last resort, an explanation of the reconsideration policy for my library and an official reconsideration form.
Curriculum Ties
English and Writing: story arc, creating suspense, point of view, and dialog.
Booktalk
Chris Creed vanishes off the face of the earth and no one in his class seems to be taking it seriously, except for Torey Adams, who finds himself on a mission to unravel the mystery. Once he is implicated in the disappearance, things take a very serious turn, and despite the consequences he is both unable and unwilling to step away from his search for the truth. This book is a what-happens-next masterpiece. What happens next will keep you turning the pages.
Reading Age and Interest Level
Grades 9-12; interest level might go as far down as Grade 8.
Why I Included This Book
I read so many positive reviews for this book, and it sounded so unusual, when I finally got my hands on it I almost expected to be disappointed. I was not. I love this book and would recommend it to anyone - young adult, adult, anyone who reads. The story is taut and engrossing and Plum-Ucci's insights into the minds of her characters address issues that are important to teenagers or anyone who has been a teenager.
References
Amazon. (ND), Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/Carol-Plum-Ucci/e/B000APKTJC/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1319332304&sr=8-1Plum-Ucci, C. (2011). About. Retrieved from http://www.carolplumucci.com/About.html
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