The Body of Christopher Creed

May 1, 2000
First-novelist Plum-Ucci wraps a well-crafted mystery around a topical issue: the effect teenage intolerance can have on misfits. When class freak Chris Creed suddenly disappears, his fellow students are not so much worried but abuzz with speculation: Is he a runaway, a suicide, a crime victim? Through a complicated but believable turn of events, narrator Torey Adams, a popular 16-year-old, starts to feel some concern and resolves to find the truth. His unlikely allies are two kids of dubious social status: Ali, who is Chris's neighbor, and Ali's boyfriend, Bo, a "boon" (shorthand for boondocks) with a juvenile record. Convinced Chris's mother is to blame for Chris's disappearance, they plan to break into his house to steal his hidden diary in hopes of finding evidence. The plan backfires: Bo is caught, Torey is implicated and all three are the subject of malicious gossip that proves to have dangerous consequences. Told as a flashback, the novel drags slightly at the beginning. Plum-Ucci, however, picks up the pace and builds to a fever pitch near the conclusion, vividly describing Torey's late-night hunt for Chris's body in a nearby Indian burial ground. Readers will likely be enthralled by the mystery, and, even more, they will be moved by Torey's hard-won realization that everyone deserves compassion. Ages 12-up.

Victor (Tori) Adams has the normal, well-rounded kind of life that a classmate like Christopher Creed can only dream of. After Creed disappears shortly into their junior year, everyone speculates about the chances of his being dead or alive. As Tori tries to work out the mystery, he risks losing his own grip on reality. In the beginning, Scott Shina's voice sounds too mature to be that of a high school student. But by the end of the book, his voice seamlessly matches the character of Tori, who has truly aged in a short span of time. Shina's narration keeps this slow-paced novel moving at a suspenseful clip. J.M.P. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine