Shattering Glass

Rating:
Summary: Shattering Glass
Review: The book Shattering Glass is a very good book. The book is about a kid named Simon Glass who is in school that is kind of a nerd. He meets a group of friends and they act like they are going to be his friends. After a while they start to make him do things that he doesn't want to do to stay in the group of friends.
Some of the strengths of this book are that it was really good. The reason it was so good is because as soon as you start to read the book you can't let it down because you always want to now what happens next. If you ask me I do not think there are any weaknesses in this book.
The book Shattering Glass is probably the best book that I have ever read. There might be a couple of books that are better, but this one is really good.
I highly recommend for everyone to read this. If you don't read this book you have no idea what you are missing because this book is so good.

Rating:
Summary: Glass menagerie
Review: There are plenty of books out there in which a group of high school students end up accidentally, or otherwise, killing either a classmate or a schoolteacher. Usually there's a great amount of build up to the event. Maybe it's a mystery that you reach at the end. Maybe the kids are innocent of the crime and it's all about clearing their names. In the case of "Shattering Glass", however, the protagonist Young Steward does away with any and all misunderstandings right from the start. "Simon Glass was easy to hate. I never knew exactly why, there was too much to pick from. I guess, really, we each hated him for a different reason, but we didn't realize it until the day we killed him". And we're off!

Four good buddies, Young, Rob, Bob, and Coop are the top of the pecking order at B'Vale High School. They're handsome, popular, and all around respected fellows. Rob is the unquestioned leader of the group, so when he proposes a crazy quest nobody raises any objections. Rob has honed in on one Simon Glass, the resident loser of the school. Glass is fat, uncool, and socially backward. For Rob the ultimate challenge becomes the success of Simon Glass. He becomes obsessed with it, using all his charm and resources to persuade people to help him in his crazy scheme. Ever the follower, Young doesn't question Rob's goals. Not even when he discovers the dark secret hiding in his best friend's past. By the time the book reaching its horrifying conclusion you've already learned what happens to the four friends and the unfortunate Simon Glass.

The book isn't a whodunit. It's a towhatextentdunit. By reading the little quotes that appear at the beginning of each chapter the reader begins to get a sense of what happened the night of Simon's death. The question isn't what happened so much as it is, "Who was involved?". It's more, "To what extent was Young involved?". Giles is the master of the slow reveal. She gives us just enough information throughout the story to be interested. Then she'll toss in the occasional tantalizing detail just to suck us deeper into the story. Best of all, Giles never creates a character without there being some kind of backstory involved. If someone does something cruel or unfeeling, you can probably bet they've their own problems hidden away somewhere. What I liked best of all was the character of Glass himself. Simultaneously a victim and a victimizer, the object of everyone's attention turns out to be far cannier than anyone ever suspected. In a way, I saw this book as a kind of updated "The Chocolate War". In both cases a charming teen at the height of his school's society feels a need to keep himself at the top of the pecking order through the rigid control of others. The only difference is, in "The Chocolate War" the villain decides to destroy a fellow student. In this book, he aims to recreate him. And the results are almost identical.

Giles has debuted with a powerful first novel. The book isn't, for the record, actually as good as "The Chocolate War", but it is the rare young adult novel that makes you think. There's a lot of power behind Giles' words and her characters are a fascinating study. As a former substitute teacher, she's aware of her subject matter and their social constraints. Best of all, the book never falls into that old trap of an adult writing for teens and including lots of "hip" teen slang. The closest this book ever comes to slang is the occasional "Yo!". I can live with that. In the end, "Shattering Glass" deserves its praise. It may not be the nicest book about teen popularity out there, but it's certainly not the cruelest.


Rating:
Summary: A real page turner
Review: There have only been two books that I have read where I Litterally could not put it down till I was finished. This is one of them. [I don't want to spoil the plot for you so] I will just tell you, that you cant wait to turn a page to see what happens next. Simply put it is a great book

Rating:
Summary: THE BEST
Review: This book is an amazing piece of work. From beginning to end, you're trapped, unable to notice anything around you. It makes you think, wonder, and hold your breath. The ending is so thrilling I had to catch my breath at the end. Anyone who reads this, you're in for a ride!

Rating:
Summary: Shattering Glass That Can't Be Replaced
Review: This book is excellent. It gets you hooked and you literally can't stop. From the first page it tells you that they're going to kill Simon Glass, the despised-nerd of their high school. Popular Rob and his three friends decide to turn him from geek to great and get him to be Class Favorite. At the beginning of every chapter it gives you a peak of after the murder while you read the story preceding it. Young Steward throughout the book is creeped out by Simon as he falls in love, loses love, and realizes he may be being strung along by his "best friend". Only he seems to see Simon's devious side. And when they others do, it's far too late. Read it today, it will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Rating:
Summary: STUNNING
Review: This book is soooo good. It shows a lot about high school life and teenagers.
In the story, Simon Glass is the nerd of the school, the one everyone makes fun of. Then the most popular kid, Rob, decides it is his task to make Simon popular. But for Simon to get to the top, many others have to pay a price, including Rob's crowd and Rob himself.
This isn't only a story about power and rankings in a normal high school, but also a story about love (Ronna Perry and Young Steward, the narrator) and what peer pressure is all about.

Rating:
Summary: AWESOME
Review: This book was an amazing book. You can almost litterally put yourself in Young's body and be there with him. When Rob and the gang make Simon Glass "MR. POPULAR", you have to wonder why. At first you might not understand the quotes at the begining of each chapter, but it will all fit perfectly at the end. The quotes also pull you into the book further and further making your eyes widen with surprise and your brain race with wonder! If you liked "The Body of Christopher Creed" or "What Happened to Lani Garver", you will like this book too!

Rating:
Summary: 5
Review: This book was awesome. I read it in one day. I couldnt stop.

Rating:
Summary: Really really good
Review: this book was really really good. like the other guy said, a lot of tension was built up. the best book i have read. you should definetley read it. you should. trust me. its good. really really good.

Rating:
Summary: Page turning perfection
Review: This novel is written with finesse, every piece adds to the puzzle. It explores the psychology of high school life and the cost of "fitting in."