Hinton, Nigel. 2 Die 4.

Hinton, Nigel.  2 Die 4.  Lerner/Graphic Universe/Milbrook/21st Century/Carolroda/DarbyCreek/Stoke Books  84p  $6.95  978-1-78112-110-8  2012 elm/ms      VG-BN       Horror     

This Scottish publisher (Stoke) is directed at dyslexic readers, with lettering spaced in a way that makes it easier for them to read.  In 2008, while I was in Scotland, I learned of Barrington Stoke and wondered why we don’t have a publisher like this in the U. S.  Their books use up-to-date research on fonts that are geared specifically to dyslexic students.

In this story, Ryan finds a cell phone at a flea market that the seller seems very eager to get rid of.  It is voice activated and does more than any other phone Ryan has ever seen, so he is thrilled to have it.  After he gets it, however, he finds that the phone seems to have a mind of its own, and often takes him to scenes of pornography and violent, disturbing images of death and gore.  Then he realizes that the phone is telling him his time is running out, and Ryan feels threatened with death himself.  The book builds its suspense step by step very skillfully, and the reader will race to finish it to see what Ryan’s fate will be.

My only caveat for American readers is this: the text is clearly oriented to British readers, with words like "roundabout" and "cinema" which most American kids do not use in their everyday speech.  I would have preferred to have the American edition reflect the way Americans speak, substituting "movies" for "cinema" and "traffic circle" for "roundabout".  Otherwise I think it is a great book!                

Cell phones–Fiction, Horror                           --Carol Kennedy