Anatomy of a Murderer

September 5, 2016
Floreen’s intense psychological horror story takes readers on a dark path through unconscionable loss, betrayal, and the changes wrought by growing up. Told from the perspective of high school senior Rem, the story examines the effect of change on the Boreal Five, a group of longtime neighborhood friends whose fifth member, Pete, was killed in a school shooting carried out by a fellow student, Franklin. While some blame a violent video game for Franklin’s actions, others believe he’s psychotic, and a new treatment developed by Rem’s mother may cure him. The hope is that her team is on the path to eradicating evil, until another student is murdered. Floreen (Willful Machines) gives readers much to consider about the nature of violence and where the lines of personal responsibility are drawn, but some may feel overwhelmed by the number of issues the book attempts to address, including the ethics of Rem’s mother’s work and knotty sexual interconnections among the teens, as well as the confusing swirl of Rem’s thoughts, feelings, and theories as he attempts to identify the killer. Ages 14–up. Agency: Adams Literary.

Scientifically induced compassion confuses a monster--and his potential target.Rem Braithwaite was part of an exclusive quintet, the Boreal Five. Rem (gay artist), Callie (outspoken liberal), Lydia (straight-laced wallflower), Tor (golden-boy athlete), and Pete (likable goofball) were together a gilded exemplar of unified high school demographic diversity (even if Indian Callie is the only nonwhite member). When reclusive, video-gaming outsider Franklin Kettle fatally shoots Pete in class, their innocuous Minnesota lives are upended. Now, a year later, Rem's scientist mother is about to implant a controversial violence-taming capsule in Franklin's brain. When Rem's mother sends him to talk with a pre- and post-surgery Franklin as part of her research, the tight-knit Midwestern inoffensiveness unravels. Flashbacks reveal the Five's parts in ostracizing Franklin, while in the present day, Rem sneaks lascivious visits with closeted Tor (who's also Lydia's boyfriend), potentially mended Franklin appeals sexually to Rem, and Rem's mother could be lying about the questionable foundation for her research. Violence unfurls again when a bootleg version of Franklin's favorite game surfaces with the Boreal Five as the targets. A troubled boy-boy romance (times two!), brewing tragedy, nods to Gothic greats (Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde), and pointed commentary are here, orchestrated deftly in a successful sophomore outing for Floreen. Chords of Frankenstein and Carrie harmonize in this emboldened critique of guns, bullying, and violence. (Science fiction. 14-18) COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

September 1, 2016

Gr 8 Up-Jeremy "Rem" Braithwaite is haunted by death. His older brother was killed in Afghanistan, and he is coming up on the one-year anniversary of witnessing a close friend being shot in front of him. Franklin, the killer, is now part of Rem's mother's sophisticated neurological experiment aimed at using a cranial implant to change Franklin from an unfeeling sociopath into someone with empathy. Before treatment, Franklin was a high school-aged Hannibal Lecter and his only pleasure was playing Sons of War, a video game similar to Call of Duty. After treatment, he seems to display empathy-sensing Rem's feeling and even sharing moments of intimacy-or is it just an act? Meanwhile, Rem's circle of friends grows smaller and smaller as murders escalate, mirroring the high school version of Sons of War that was uncovered online. The pace quickens as throughout, Rem's mom appears to be less than forthright about the nature of her research. Importantly, this novel breaks new ground by including gay central characters whose sexuality, however tender, is not the main plot focus. VERDICT A sci-fi thriller that combines the best of Daniel Keyes's Flowers for Algernon with Thomas Harris's The Silence of the Lambs and will leave readers on the edge of their seats right up to the unexpected, touching conclusion.-Leah Krippner, Harlem High School, Machesney Park, IL

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