Read Between the Lines

Nine teens and one teacher each tell a story about a seemingly ordinary school day in November. Each story reveals more about the characters--their secrets, troubled family lives, crushes, and friendships--and how they relate to one another. (Often, it's through someone giving someone else the finger, a gesture appearing in each story.) These interconnected stories create a powerful, complex whole.

This is a glimpse into the lives of nine teens and one teacher on a seemingly ordinary school day in November. Each takes a turn telling a story: among the narrators are Nate, whose middle finger is in a splint after he breaks it in gym class; Stephen, who witnesses his father having a heart attack in a restaurant; Grace, who’s struggling to convey an image of the perfect popular cheerleader; and Lacy, a “fat girl” who, in the book’s most shocking vignette, is sexually violated on a school bus. With each story, readers learn more about who the characters are -- their secrets, troubled family lives, crushes, and friendships -- and how they relate to one another. (Often, it’s through giving, or getting, the finger, a gesture that appears in each story with a variety of motivations and reactions.) Their voices are a reminder to look past simplistic stereotypes, appearances, and projections; in the best moments, as narrator Keith tells us, “she sees the real me, and I am seeing the real her…And by seeing each other that way, we’re seeing our true selves, too.” While some perspectives are missing -- we never hear from Lacy’s two-dimensional-seeming attacker, for example -- these interconnected stories create a powerful, complex whole. rachel l. smith