Helpful Score: 1
Not a bad book. This is a quick read thanks to the short chapters. It takes awhile to build the story up, so you have to stick with it. It's still not an earth-shattering ending, but it does make you think for a bit after you've finished. All in all, definitely worth a read, but not worth keeping on my bookshelf.
Helpful Score: 1
Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com
Holy Cow! That was, literally, what I said to myself after turning the last page of Gail Giles's newest release, WHAT HAPPENED TO CASS MCBRIDE? Although I've read many of the author's books in the past, I have to say that I think this one, even more than SHATTERING GLASS or PLAYING IN TRAFFIC, is my new favorite.
The plot is pretty straight-forward; is, in fact, told pretty matter-of-factly on the inside cover. Something bad has happened to pretty, popular Cass McBride. Something that involves Kyle Kirby, and his younger brother, David, who just happens to be dead. That much you'll get right away. What you won't get, until you start reading the book, is that this is a psychological thriller that will have you flipping pages like a madman (or woman).
It's actually hard to tell readers about the storyline of this book without giving too much away. Let's just say that David Kirby has committed suicide, Cass feels slightly responsible, and Kyle is sure Cass is to blame. What happens because of those three circumstances is something unexpected, something that, due to the author's vivid writing and imagination, will leave you breathless.
WHAT HAPPENED TO CASS MCBRIDE? is a glimpse into many different points of view. That of Cass McBride herself, who has had a pretty strange upbringing and doesn't even realize it until Kyle Kirby takes matters into his own hands. Then there's Kyle himself, a young man who has had the type of childhood you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy. Then there's the police detective, Ben, who has his own story to tell, and ones to listen to. And although we don't really get to hear David Kirby tell his story (he is, after all, quite dead), we learn about a boy who never really even had a chance.
This is a great book for all lovers of a good thriller, although I wouldn't recommend it for very young teens. That said, however, this is the perfect book for a reluctant reader, as the short chapters, fresh dialogue, and snappy writing style keep you moving right along. This is another must-read from author Gail Giles!
Holy Cow! That was, literally, what I said to myself after turning the last page of Gail Giles's newest release, WHAT HAPPENED TO CASS MCBRIDE? Although I've read many of the author's books in the past, I have to say that I think this one, even more than SHATTERING GLASS or PLAYING IN TRAFFIC, is my new favorite.
The plot is pretty straight-forward; is, in fact, told pretty matter-of-factly on the inside cover. Something bad has happened to pretty, popular Cass McBride. Something that involves Kyle Kirby, and his younger brother, David, who just happens to be dead. That much you'll get right away. What you won't get, until you start reading the book, is that this is a psychological thriller that will have you flipping pages like a madman (or woman).
It's actually hard to tell readers about the storyline of this book without giving too much away. Let's just say that David Kirby has committed suicide, Cass feels slightly responsible, and Kyle is sure Cass is to blame. What happens because of those three circumstances is something unexpected, something that, due to the author's vivid writing and imagination, will leave you breathless.
WHAT HAPPENED TO CASS MCBRIDE? is a glimpse into many different points of view. That of Cass McBride herself, who has had a pretty strange upbringing and doesn't even realize it until Kyle Kirby takes matters into his own hands. Then there's Kyle himself, a young man who has had the type of childhood you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy. Then there's the police detective, Ben, who has his own story to tell, and ones to listen to. And although we don't really get to hear David Kirby tell his story (he is, after all, quite dead), we learn about a boy who never really even had a chance.
This is a great book for all lovers of a good thriller, although I wouldn't recommend it for very young teens. That said, however, this is the perfect book for a reluctant reader, as the short chapters, fresh dialogue, and snappy writing style keep you moving right along. This is another must-read from author Gail Giles!
You THINK you know what this book is about by reading the description and reviews... but you are WRONG. There is so much more to this book than a straight forward plot. The polt is the easy part, it's emotion that'll keep you reading. It's easy to identify with all the characters, they're you, and me, and our friends... people we know... but there is the twist, do we really know each other as well as we think we do? The ending is not something I would have liked in other books, but totally works in this one. This is a fantastic and quick read.
So what happened to Cass McBride you ask? Hmmm...Cass is one of those girls that you see in school as an overachiever who tends to get what she wants whenever she wants. She's not particularly nasty to peoples face because she understands that in order to get to where she needs to go she will need others to do it. But like a lot of girls her age, she has a nasty side that she showed in a note that was supposedly only to be for her best friend about a boy who asked her out.
I don't want to give anything away, but Cass will soon learn something about herself that will affect her for the rest of her life and changes the way she sees and feels about things.
The book is quite short, but I think it has the perfect amount of pages to tell a story about a young woman whose life changed quicker than she could say Prom Queen.
I don't want to give anything away, but Cass will soon learn something about herself that will affect her for the rest of her life and changes the way she sees and feels about things.
The book is quite short, but I think it has the perfect amount of pages to tell a story about a young woman whose life changed quicker than she could say Prom Queen.
