ARE YOU IN THE HOUSE ALONE? (Laurel-Leaf Mystery)

Rating:
Summary: Are You in the House Alone?(This is it Miss O.!)
Review: Are You in the House Alone?, by Richard Peck, is a very realistic tale of a sixteen-year-old's struggle to make it through her teen years. It is a great book for kids her age who are either into reading about what really happens in high school, like drinking, partying and relationships or who are going through these aspects of growing up. The main character, Gail, is experincing these things. She is in an intimate relationship with her steady boyfriend, Steve, and is failing to get along with her parents. Her friend, Alison, is going out with a guy named Phil Lawver. All of the commotion started when, one night while baby-sitting, Gail recieved many consecutive phone calls where the "mystery person" would just hang up or would say something crude to her. Then she began recieving threatening notes in her locker saying that someone, somewhere was watching her. The notes and calls kept coming, and thats when she took it seriously. She brought it to the school's guidance counselor, who repeatedly told her it was just some boy playing a joke on her. One Friday night, again at the place where she baby-sat, there was a phone call that asked, "Are You in the House Alone?" This really scared her, so she called Steve to tell him to come over as soon as possible. He wasn't home, but she left the message with his mother. The next thing she knew, the door bell rang. It was Phil, Alison's boyfriend. He told her he was looking for the lady whose kids she was baby-sitting, but since she was so scared, she told him to stay even though the lady wasn't home. After a couple of minutes, he asked her, "Are You in the House Alone?" she screamed and yelled at him for scaring her like that, but didn't notice he was coming closer to her every second. He knocked her out and raped her. When she woke up, she was in a hospital bed telling the police who it was. The Lawvers were rich and important people in the city, so no one believed her. The book ends right before the trial so you, as the reader, get to dream up the ending or hope Mr. Peck writes a sequel. I've been wondering what every happened to the Lawver boy.

~Sarah


Rating:
Summary: Could be better!
Review: I became interested in this book because while I was working at the information desk (I am a librarian) someone ask me about a book pertaining to rape. I limited my search and this title came up. Are you in the house alone? Is a dated book. It is about upper class teenager whites in suburbia in the late 1970's. Though it might seem dated for a teenager in this era to read I think they will still be intrigued. It focuses on the main character Gail and her family who recently moved from New York City. The book discusses her relationship with her boyfriend Steve and them being lovers and she been on birth control. The mention of these topic surprised me since this book was written in a time when this topic was taboo. Since I knew the book had to do with rape I begin wondering how it will happen. It seems that someone has been watching Gail and she has no idea who it is. She begins getting very sexual depraved notes and phone calls stating what will be done to her when the individual comes to her. She shares it with a friend and a counselor who all think its just some boy trying to scare her. I never understand why she never told her parents but she never did and eventually gets rape. The readers will be shock to find out who the rapist is and how she deals with knowing her rapist. Interesting read but hated the conclusion. Though I know what happen after the rape is realistic I did not want it to be concluded this way and then again for the time it was written somewhat understandable.


Rating:
Summary: Not really the best
Review: I found this book to be in the middle of realistic and not realistic enough. The plot was about Gail, a young woman (still in high school) who is already sexually active. In the beginning she is being stalked she doesn't really have any idea who it is and thus can't protect herself. She decides to babysit for a neighbor and gets raped by her stalker who is really her "best" friends boyfriend. I found that this book just touches on the surface. Gail jumps out as being eerily real, but the people she meets are all one demensional. If I had a choice to read this book again, I probably wouldn't. If it couldn't keep my attention the first time, I doubt it will a second read through.

Rating:
Summary: Difficult, Painful, but Worthwhile
Review: I read this book when I was fifteen, and I think it would make me sick if I were to read it now. But more about that later. The main character, Gail, is not portrayed as a saint but rather as a sexually active sixteen year old-this makes it hard for some people, I suppose. Secretly, whether we will admit it or not, it's harder for some of us to empathize with a sexually active character who, as the rapist points out, isn't even wearing a bra when he attacks her. Grrr, darn that Richard Peck, exposing our prejudices!

Honestly, Gail isn't a very likable character. She's kind of selfish, kind of manipulative, kind of meanly sarcastic...I think that's why I liked her so much. She's real. When she starts getting threatening notes and phone calls, she doesn't know what to do, and so, as most people would, she doesn't do much of anything. At this point we're screaming at the book to try to get her to do something, because we know what's coming. But the greatest strength of this novel is that it makes us wonder what we would do in a similar situation.

The most frustrating thing about this book is that it seems to carry the message that there's nothing we CAN do. Gail tries to defend herself but fails. She tries to punish the man responsible, but fails. Maybe that's reality, but not only is it extremely frustrating, it's a BAD message to send to victims:Don't try to prosocute your attacker, the justice system is against you. I don't think that's necessarily the message that Mr. Peck was trying to get accross, but that's how I felt when reading the book. That's why I can't give this book more than four stars. I really think it deserves five stars. It's good, the characters seem real, but it's hard to like any of them, and by the end you're pulling your hair out over the unfairness at all. Maybe I should give the book extra points for eliciting such a strong emotional response-I can see that I'm not alone, given the other reviews on this site. In that case, give it five stars. This book is compelling, and it's definately worth reading, but be forewarned about these messages before you read: the justice system is often unjust, it's hard to find people you can trust, and survival is a difficult and painful process. Peck must be commended, however, for being so brutally honest.

Rating:
Summary: Difficult, Painful, but Worthwhile
Review: I read this book when I was fifteen, and I think it would make me sick if I were to read it now. But more about that later. The main character, Gail, is not portrayed as a saint but rather as a sexually active sixteen year old-this makes it hard for some people, I suppose. Secretly, whether we will admit it or not, it's harder for some of us to empathize with a sexually active character who, as the rapist points out, isn't even wearing a bra when he attacks her. Grrr, darn that Richard Peck, exposing our prejudices!

Honestly, Gail isn't a very likable character. She's kind of selfish, kind of manipulative, kind of meanly sarcastic...I think that's why I liked her so much. She's real. When she starts getting threatening notes and phone calls, she doesn't know what to do, and so, as most people would, she doesn't do much of anything. At this point we're screaming at the book to try to get her to do something, because we know what's coming. But the greatest strength of this novel is that it makes us wonder what we would do in a similar situation.

The most frustrating thing about this book is that it seems to carry the message that there's nothing we CAN do. Gail tries to defend herself but fails. She tries to punish the man responsible, but fails. Maybe that's reality, but not only is it extremely frustrating, it's a BAD message to send to victims:Don't try to prosocute your attacker, the justice system is against you. I don't think that's necessarily the message that Mr. Peck was trying to get accross, but that's how I felt when reading the book. That's why I can't give this book more than four stars. I really think it deserves five stars. It's good, the characters seem real, but it's hard to like any of them, and by the end you're pulling your hair out over the unfairness at all. Maybe I should give the book extra points for eliciting such a strong emotional response-I can see that I'm not alone, given the other reviews on this site. In that case, give it five stars. This book is compelling, and it's definately worth reading, but be forewarned about these messages before you read: the justice system is often unjust, it's hard to find people you can trust, and survival is a difficult and painful process. Peck must be commended, however, for being so brutally honest.

Rating:
Summary: Don't read it
Review: I seriously didn't like it. It is definetly not for the young and weak hearted. The characters were not likeable and the fact that everything was sexual was not exactly a positive feature. It sickened me, and i really felt bad after finishing it. Truly skip this book, it's not worthwhile, please i beg of you don't read it. I'm incredibly disappointed in Richard Peck in this one.

Rating:
Summary: Not really the best
Review: This book was a pretty good book. I would read it again. This book is about a young girl named Gail who becomes a babysitter and gets all these weird phone calls from some man who wouldn't tell her his name. She is scared, but she still continues to babysit for the same people because she likes them and tries not think anything of the phone calls. She gets really scared and invites a friend over but when she opens the door it's not her friend. It's someone else. That's when the worst of it starts. You should definitely read this book, because it is interesting and provides suspense.

Rating:
Summary: good, but kinda boring through some of it
Review: this book was pretty good... i mean, they described everything well and the plot made sense. adults may find this book more interesting, because i am 14 and i thaught it was a tad on the boring side. all in all, though, it deserved four stars.