Saturday, January 7, 2012

van Tol, Alex. Viral

van Tol, Alex.     Viral  
Orca  2011  131p  9.95  978-1-55469-411-2  
ms/hs Realistic
Fiction           VG    

 When Lindsay is photographed during party, and the video
goes viral, Mike must find a way to stop her from committing suicide.   Once
again Orca Soundings has taken an age-old story of friendship and love, and
infused it with contemporary drama and tension.  Mike and Lindsay have been
friends for years, but a misunderstanding escalates, and Lindsay becomes drunk
and high on Ecstasy at a party, and is raped, the encounter recorded.  When it
goes viral at school, Lindsay attempts suicide.  The ending is predictable, but
the journey there is satisfyingly written and taughtly plotted.  Geared for
reluctant readers, this story will be enjoyed by other teens equally.  There is
mention of sex, especially in the rape scene, but nothing is graphic, and it is
the violence, not the sex, that may preclude this book from being suitable for
younger teens.          Naismith, Pat

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