Rating: 
Summary: How one person can change many lives.
Review: This book talks about how interagators don't always make the right choices for the right reasons. This book makes you think of what could have happened. The what if question. It is a fast read, but if you like to connect to books, this is the book for you.
Rating: 
Summary: A real journalistic approach...
Review: (By the way, I'm an adult, and this is my review of a "teenage" novel, so if you're a kid who wants to read what other kids think of this book, you're welcome to ignore this review.)
I loved Robert Cormier's classic novels when I was a teenager. I didn't think his world was bleak. I just thought it was straightforward, and I even remember thinking (all the way back then) that he wrote like a newspaper reporter writes: clean sentences, openings that grab you, spare word usage, economical description. The Rag and Bone Shop, his last published novel, is all of that. Just like some of Mr. Cormier's other books, it straddles an awkward space between "children's" or "teenage" fiction and a real adult sensibility. This one is especially uncomfortable, as it often takes on the perspective of adults (and their career or romantic concerns), and I felt those sections quickly shot into predictable territory. I kept wondering if this was the finished work that Mr. Cormier wanted it to be. It felt truncated, unrealistic. But I have to admit that I zipped through it the way you would an interesting feature article in the newspaper.
Rating:
Summary: A fine finale to Cormier's career.
Review: Robert Cormier's final novel, THE RAG AND BONE SHOP, takes its name from a line in a poem by William Butler Yeats --- "I must lie down where all the ladders start/In the foul rag?and?bone shop of the heart." In this novel, Cormier explores the lengths to which a person might go. In the end, both of the book's main characters discover they have gone too far.
Jason Dorrant is 12 years old and something of a misfit. Quiet and shy, he is more comfortable around younger children than around his peers. For this reason, he is considered "slow" by people in his town. Jason has some friends, but they tend to be little kids like his 7?year?old pal Alicia Bartlett. THE RAG AND BONE SHOP reveals what happens after Alicia is discovered dead.
It turns out that Jason had visited Alicia the day of her death. Jason wants to do all he can to help the police catch her killer. He agrees to tell them everything he knows. The police, meanwhile, suspect that Jason is the killer. They turn to a man named Mr. Trent who specializes in interrogation. Trent has never failed to get a criminal to confess. He is especially motivated in this case --- a senator with an interest in Alicia's murder has promised to help his career if he gets a confession.
A good portion of the book takes place in a small, hot, windowless room --- the interrogation room. Cormier describes it in enough detail to make the reader as uncomfortable as Jason is while he is being questioned. The way Trent works is also detailed --- first he does everything he can to gain Jason's trust, then Trent tries to persuade him to confess to killing his young friend. At the same time, Jason struggles to understand both what Trent wants from him and what he remembers about Alicia's last day alive.
Cormier moved smoothly between the two characters' points of view, building suspense and driving the story to its powerful conclusion --- a conclusion with no winners.
Although the book is very nearly flawless, it may be one chapter too long. The final chapter concerns the aftermath of Jason's experience with Trent. It wraps up the book with a shocking surprise, but it also seems a bit unrealistic, taking a believable story and stretching our ability to believe it a little too far. The chapter is unnecessary due to the excellent job Cormier did describing Jason late in the book.
Even with the last chapter, however, THE RAG AND BONE SHOP, like many of Cormier's classics, including THE CHOCOLATE WAR, is a dark and fascinating book. Cormier died in November of 2000 at the age of 75, but THE RAG AND BONE SHOP clearly reveals that he was still at the top of his game, writing in his characteristic uncluttered style and making full and powerful use of his knack for revealing the motivations of his characters in this suspenseful and sad story. Part mystery and part cautionary tale, THE RAG AND BONE SHOP is a fine finale to Cormier's career.
(...)
Rating:
Summary: READ THIS BOOK!!!!!!!!
Review: This is one of those teen-age books that is probably much more disturbing for an adult to read than a child. It clearly portrays the ways in which children can be intimidated by adults, something that Jason (the main character) seems to take for granted. He is taken in for questioning as the prime suspect for the murder of a seven year old girl, and most of the book consists of a dialogue between himself and the detective, Trent. Trent's ambition is to always get a confession, and Cormier does an excellent job in describing the detective's feelings and personality. The narration jumps between both Trent and Jason, and I was throughly exhaused and chilled by the time it was over. I found the ending plausible and very disturbing. This was a book that serves as a good reminder of how emotionally dependant children can be and how careful adults should be when speaking to them.
Rating: 
Summary: Rag and Bone Shop A must Read
Review: The Rag and the Bone Shop is about a boy named Jason who doesn't have many friends. One of the few friends he does have is a girl named Alicia Bartlett. Alicia is a very bright seven year old. On the first day of summer Jason went over to her house and he helped Alicia on a jigsaw puzzle. After Jason left Alicia's house her murdered body was later found in the woods. The remaining story surrounds around the investigation of Alicia's murder. I enjoyed reading The Rag and the Bone Shop for several reasons. First I enjoyed the dialog between the charters in the novel. Such as when Mr. Trent was interrogating Jason and both were trying to figure out what the other was saying. Another dialog is when the police officer convinces Jason's mother to allow Jason to be taken to the police station. Another thing I enjoyed about the story was Robert Cormier's description of some of the characters. In one scene he describes a boy's acne as something that "seems to come alive, the rawness of the zits emphasized". Another description is when he describes what Alicia Bartlett's body looked like when they found her "the killer could not erase the expression frozen in her eyes-horror and surprise-and had not bothered to close those stricken eyes". I also enjoyed his writing style. It made you keep reading and it was enticing. The Rag and the Bone Shop had a few downsides. What I disliked were some of the words that the author used in the story. Some of the words were difficult. I had to stop reading several times to look up the definition for the word. Another thing I disliked about the novel was the flow of the story. At times it was a bit confusing. At certain parts of the story the author would begin describing memories. It would take several sentences before I realized what was going on. Another example is it took me awhile when reading the story before I made the connection to part1 of the story. I would recommend The Rag and the Bone Shop to young readers between the ages of 10-14. I feel that the book is well written and has a good plot. I feel the reader will enjoy the anticipation of how the story will end. The story keeps the reader thinking. The most enjoyable part is how the story climaxes and comes to a sudden end.
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