The Fall by James Preller

The Fall by James Preller.  2015, Fiewel and Friends

There is one less person that will attend school in the fall, and it is noticed by everyone.  Funny thing was, she wasn't noticed at all, until...

Morgan was an unassuming girl, but Sam knew who she was.  An accidental meeting led Sam to "accidentally" meet Morgan again and again.  Eventually, their friendship grew.  But Morgan knew something was wrong.  Sam didn't want to be seen in public with her, even avoiding his friends so they couldn't be seen.  But why?

And when Morgan finds out the truth, she decides the better option is not to be a part of it..or any part of life...and when the school finds out about the incident, the reaction is different.  Some are upset this could happen.  But then there are others who make sure that what they did is kept secret - from teachers, counselors, parents - everyone.

This affects Sam most, who was one of the last ones to post on her social media.  He has to look in the mirror everyone knowing he was a part of the tragedy.  He is also one who is full of the "what ifs" as well as trying to keep this dark ugly secret from surfacing.  And he knows what could happen to him if he decides to tell someone.

To Morgan, there seemed to be no alternative to the bullying that was happening everyday, in and out of school.  To Sam, there is an after alternative that could break him and lead him down the same path Morgan was trapped in.  What to do?  What to do....

This is a book about a teen who has to come to terms with choosing to be popular over choosing to do the right thing.  To cope with his grief, the readers get to see how his life has changed in real time, but most importantly, how his life has changed emotionally through his journal.

Powerful, impactful, recommended for readers who delve into this genre. 7-12

Afterward by Jennifer Mathieu

Afterward by Jennifer Mathieu.  2016, Roaring Brook Press

Small towns are places where people know each other and neighbors are everyone.  It's a place where people will recognize an unusual car.  They watch out for other people's kids as well as their own, and help create that small town feel that just feels right....

But one day, four years ago, Ethan was taken while riding a bike.  But when another boy goes missing from the same town, it is a pattern, not chance.  Thankfully, both boys are found and returned home but the aftermath is difficult.

Ethan is now fourteen years old.  He's missed out on life and has to deal with PTSD as well as behavioral and relational issues.  His mother hovers and he doesn't want to talk to his therapist about what happened.  Instead, he copes through blocking out what happened.  But then he meets Caroline. Her little brother was the other kid help captive but he can't talk to anyone because of his autism.

While Ethan has the means to go to therapy, Caroline's family doesn't, and the best way to deal with it is to pretend it never happened.  Her brother's life is unraveling, and Caroline is desparate to help.

She wants to know what happens, Ethan wants to forget it.  Together they begin down a path of friendship that allows for cathartic release, which both of them really need.

Powerful book from start to finish.  Two lives unfolding right in front of the readers' eyes allows for a wider perspective, but Caroline's and Ethan's friendship in the novel create another different perspective all of its own.  It's not only about victims, but about families too.  Highly recommended 7-12

Shackled by Tom Leveen

2015, Simon Pulse
Pelly and Tara were best friends until Tara disappeared.  What was just another ordinary day turned into a nightmare, in which Pelly went home and Tara never did.  This left a deep emotional scar on Pelly, where she was afraid to leave the house, suffered from severe panic attacks and went through rigorous therapy.  Now, as a teen, Pelly is taking it one step at a time, making her entrance into a world she tried so hard to avoid.  To try to maintain a "normal" life, she gets a job at a local coffee shop where she and David work the counters.  However hard David tries to engage Pelly, she won't respond.  It's not part of her safe world she's willing to let go of right now.

And then THEY comes into the coffee shop.  He looks like he has his daughter with him, treating her to a coffee, but Pelly is shocked, not only with what she sees, but what she hears.  Tara had a small mole on her neck, and this girl has the same mark.  Pelly isn't sure if her eyes and mind are playing tricks on her until she hears to the girl whisper, "help me" as she leaves, in tow behind the non-descript man who ushers her into his car and speed away.  Pelly KNOWS it's her friend Tara and all of the hard work she's done to get back out in the world disappears as swiftly as the car her friend got into.

Although David didn't see what she did, he is willing to help her because he believes her.  This is something Pelly isn't used to because no one, not even the police, believes her story.  All she has is the description of the car and the license plate number, but that's all she and David need to track down the man and find out if he is the abductor who took Tara years ago.

And when they finally arrive at their destination, they are confronted with a brutal truth....something much bigger and more unexpected than they could have imagined...

Leveen writes a dark novel about an equally dark part of society - those that prey on the young and weak without anyone believing they are psychopaths in disguise.
Ripped from today's headlines, this story mirrors the horrific incident surrounding Ariel Castro and his home in Cleveland and Leveen does an excellent job in creating a fictional novel with equally realistic characters and plot development that allow the reader to question whether Pelly hasn't quite healed emotionally orshe really did see what she thought she did.  The author creates two main characters who are very much opposite but together, their opposites make sense. The reader will begin to slowly peel the layers apart until the ending where they find the heart of the matter may not be what they expected.  Recommended for upper JH/HS