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theseventhl's review against another edition
2.0
I usually love Pete Hautman's works but this one barely did anything for me. I lacked connection with any of the characters, a lot of them were underdeveloped, and the major twists at the end involving Shayne were lackluster verging on cliche. It's more of a bullied kid's wet dream than anything else. The officer character's storyline as well as the chapters that took place in the police station saved it from being a one-star book.
posies23's review against another edition
5.0
This is a short, taut, YA novel, which is equal parts LAW AND ORDER and THE USUAL SUSPECTS, with a hint of SHANE thrown in for good measure. It deals with an astonishing number of themes: domestic abuse, racial identity, substance abuse, high school, and struggles with fitting in, just to name a few, but all the themes are just part of a compelling story, with interesting characters and some nice upsetting of typical YA expectations.
On the surface, it's the story of a high school student who has the incredibly bad luck to have his high school's bully/drug dealer dating his sister, and the new kid at school, who might be able to help him out of a jam, or make things even worse. As things get worse with the bully/dealer, things get more and more complicated, and the "new kid" isn't exactly what he seems. In a parallel story, a young man enters a police station and begins confessing to a murder. As the novel continues, the two threads show that they are connected. To say much more would spoil the fun (and ingenious plotting) of the novel.
More than anything, this book reminds me of the work of Robert Cormier, one of the godfathers of YA literature. Like Cormier, Hautman doesn't shy away from controversial topics, but he also doesn't forget to tell a good story, and leaves the reader with plenty to think about.
Highly recommended.
On the surface, it's the story of a high school student who has the incredibly bad luck to have his high school's bully/drug dealer dating his sister, and the new kid at school, who might be able to help him out of a jam, or make things even worse. As things get worse with the bully/dealer, things get more and more complicated, and the "new kid" isn't exactly what he seems. In a parallel story, a young man enters a police station and begins confessing to a murder. As the novel continues, the two threads show that they are connected. To say much more would spoil the fun (and ingenious plotting) of the novel.
More than anything, this book reminds me of the work of Robert Cormier, one of the godfathers of YA literature. Like Cormier, Hautman doesn't shy away from controversial topics, but he also doesn't forget to tell a good story, and leaves the reader with plenty to think about.
Highly recommended.
emellis59's review against another edition
4.0
Pete Hautman might just be my favorite YA author. I love how Blank Confession was written, alternating between past and present, Mikey and the interrogation room. Hautman did a great job of building tension and setting the seen. I was a little disappointed in the ending, or maybe just undecided. Shayne Blank just didn't seem real, but I guess maybe that was the point. Good read though!
skyla223's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
ariatari's review against another edition
4.0
I'm really into crime novels, and as such, I have such high expectations for them. This book didn't disappoint. This is the first piece by Hautman I had the pleasure of reading. If there's any more, I will be happy to check those out as well. Such a good crime novel.
scorpiobookfairy's review against another edition
3.0
A nice short little story, nothing really special but a quick read.
missprint_'s review against another edition
2.0
Blank Confession (2010) by Pete Hautman
Shayne Blank doesn't expect to make friends or even really get to know anyone when he comes to town. Then he walks into the police station to confess to a murder. Shayne's confession is woven with a narrative from the perspectives of Shayne's newest (most well-dressed) friend Mikey and the world weary detective interviewing Shayne.
The story here has good writing as well as an intriguing premise. Unfortunately that does not make for a good book in this case. Mikey, who narrates most of the story, is a caricature at best with his pipsqueak persona and suit-wearing style. The phrasing throughout the novel verges on the absurd with motorcycles being referred to as "crotch rockets" at least three times, among other atrocities.
Shayne is an under-developed character. Readers learn more about him in the last chapter than they do in the entire rest of the novel. While the idea is sound, and the story is short making it potentially great for reluctant readers, the characters drag this book down. The premise of a high school bully having the capacity to menace an entire town quickly wears thin as do the stunningly flat female character (because yes, there is only one).
Shayne Blank doesn't expect to make friends or even really get to know anyone when he comes to town. Then he walks into the police station to confess to a murder. Shayne's confession is woven with a narrative from the perspectives of Shayne's newest (most well-dressed) friend Mikey and the world weary detective interviewing Shayne.
The story here has good writing as well as an intriguing premise. Unfortunately that does not make for a good book in this case. Mikey, who narrates most of the story, is a caricature at best with his pipsqueak persona and suit-wearing style. The phrasing throughout the novel verges on the absurd with motorcycles being referred to as "crotch rockets" at least three times, among other atrocities.
Shayne is an under-developed character. Readers learn more about him in the last chapter than they do in the entire rest of the novel. While the idea is sound, and the story is short making it potentially great for reluctant readers, the characters drag this book down. The premise of a high school bully having the capacity to menace an entire town quickly wears thin as do the stunningly flat female character (because yes, there is only one).
b00knerd's review against another edition
3.0
Quick easy read that was nothing special. Not a bad book just not a book to rave about.
duffypratt's review against another edition
3.0
I felt sort of like an idiot when it hit me that this book actually is the high-school retelling of Shane, the western by George Stevens. I mean Shayne Blank is the name of the mysterious stranger who rides into school on his BMW motorcycle. He's not particularly special in any way, but has a distinct air of danger about him. He gets mixed up with some really bad characters while trying to help some kid who is out of his depth, and he becomes tangentially involved with everyone in the kid's family. Things escalate through a series of cool showdowns, until there is a climax, and he rides off into the sunset.
In cases like this, where the lifting is so obvious, I don't know whether to be put off by what the author has done, or charmed. In this case, I'm going to opt for a little of both. If you accept the implausibility of an itinerant vigilante student, the basic of idea of this western translates remarkably well into the high school milieu. The tale is still slight, but it works, and it's engaging. But I was also a little put off the way Hautman tried to hide what he was doing. The book opens with another cliche: flashbacks as a story is being told in a police interrogation. In this way, Hautman tries to hide the Western cliches behind some Hard Boiled Detective/Film Noir cliches.
Also, this being the third book I've read of his, I'm starting to lose patience with some recurrences: the alcoholic father, the dysfunctional family, and the use of an overly involved narrative structure, usually a very clever structure, to patch over some weaknesses in the narrative itself. I'm more and more thinking that Hautman is extremely clever, but lacks some heart.
In cases like this, where the lifting is so obvious, I don't know whether to be put off by what the author has done, or charmed. In this case, I'm going to opt for a little of both. If you accept the implausibility of an itinerant vigilante student, the basic of idea of this western translates remarkably well into the high school milieu. The tale is still slight, but it works, and it's engaging. But I was also a little put off the way Hautman tried to hide what he was doing. The book opens with another cliche: flashbacks as a story is being told in a police interrogation. In this way, Hautman tries to hide the Western cliches behind some Hard Boiled Detective/Film Noir cliches.
Also, this being the third book I've read of his, I'm starting to lose patience with some recurrences: the alcoholic father, the dysfunctional family, and the use of an overly involved narrative structure, usually a very clever structure, to patch over some weaknesses in the narrative itself. I'm more and more thinking that Hautman is extremely clever, but lacks some heart.