Corrigan, Eireann. The Believing Game.

Corrigan, Eireann.  The Believing Game.  Scholastic Press  373p  $17.99 978-0-545-29983-1       2012  hs    VG-BN       Realistic Fiction

     

Greer Elizabeth is a troubled teenager who has an eating disorder, enjoys sex and thinks nothing of shoplifting.  That is how she ends up at the cloistered McCracken-Hill Academy for delinquent kids.  Forced to stay there and receive treatment, Greer becomes obstinate until she discovers that if she cooperates she can earn privileges.  Then, one day in one of her classes, she meets the new student, Addison Bradley.  He is charismatic, handsome, and charming, but also troubled.  He is working his way to recovery and has just fallen for Greer.  Together they discover the wonder of love, and begin to plan for a future together.  All goes well until Addison introduces Joshua to Greer and some of the other kids, who eventually become a closely-knit group.  From the beginning, Joshua gives Greer a feeling of unease.

Then the group of six kids, three boys and three girls, go on a camping trip together and stay at a cabin for the weekend.  What happens during that weekend changes all their lives and gives them a new perspective on how truly bad things can become for them.  Joshua, who is supposed to be in charge, overwhelms the group with crazy talk, until the kids begin to feel threatened.

This is a good thriller to the end but quite dark in nature.

Detention Facilities–Fiction, Cults–Fiction                  --Magna Diaz