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viviennemorgain's review
5.0
Whoa! I expected a simple bullying story and got way more, than that.
I really enjoyed the banter, it was brilliant.
Even though you can pretty easily figure out who's the bully early on, it's a great book and definitely worth reading. The drama will keep you up reading while you keep biting your nails.
While I loved the cover I haven't managed to figure out what's it got to do with the story.
I really enjoyed the banter, it was brilliant.
Even though you can pretty easily figure out who's the bully early on, it's a great book and definitely worth reading. The drama will keep you up reading while you keep biting your nails.
While I loved the cover I haven't managed to figure out what's it got to do with the story.
nklosty's review
4.0
This novel pushes some of the limits. I wasn't surprised by many of the elements, but the storyline kept me interested. The message of how well we know people kept me thinking. I love the idea of a teacher that kids trust enough to go to when times are down. 94
erincataldi's review
4.0
This was a fast read, and I had it knocked out in about three hours. Chris Crutcher does a great job keeping you at the edge of your seat, guessing as to what is about to happen next. And it's no use, because you won't figure out what in the hell is going on until the end.
Period 8 is an hour long hang out/lunch time/open discussion that students at Heller High can participate in. The only only rules are that you have to keep it real (no lying and be honest) and what gets discussed in Period 8, STAYS in Period 8.
The truth isn't always simple though, when Paulie tells his girlfriend Hannah that he cheated on her, shit hits the fan and it seems to start a chain of events that no one could have foreseen. Mr. Logs, their trusty teacher, tries to hold the glue together, but easier said than done. When Mary goes missing, everyone in Period 8 realize that someone is lying. Can Paulie and Hannah pull through and settle their differences and work together to help find Mary? Why did Mary run away? All these questions and more build up until the fiery conclusion.
Great page turner!
Period 8 is an hour long hang out/lunch time/open discussion that students at Heller High can participate in. The only only rules are that you have to keep it real (no lying and be honest) and what gets discussed in Period 8, STAYS in Period 8.
The truth isn't always simple though, when Paulie tells his girlfriend Hannah that he cheated on her, shit hits the fan and it seems to start a chain of events that no one could have foreseen. Mr. Logs, their trusty teacher, tries to hold the glue together, but easier said than done. When Mary goes missing, everyone in Period 8 realize that someone is lying. Can Paulie and Hannah pull through and settle their differences and work together to help find Mary? Why did Mary run away? All these questions and more build up until the fiery conclusion.
Great page turner!
loser127's review
2.0
2.5 out of 5. I like Chris Crutcher, but this was hard to follow, and was a bit exaggerated. For such a short book, it took me a long time to read it. It wasn't bad though.
kelleemoye's review
4.0
*Chris Crutcher can write. Wow!
Full review at: http://www.unleashingreaders.com/?p=2620
Now, this is not a "normal" Chris Crutcher book, but like all of his books, it is raw, true, and sports plays a role of some sort. And this one is SO full of suspense for the last 25%. It is a hold your breath, read as quickly as you can kind of book there at the end. (I do wish that this suspense had been spread out to 50% of the book. This would have helped the pacing a bit and I think it would have given Crutcher more time to give information into the crime. Although the quick pacing at the end adds to the suspense, I think spreading it out a bit would have kept the suspense and given more time to delve further into the bad guys and the mystery.)
I, personally, really loved how he chose to tell the story in 3rd person. Although it doesn't give as much insight into one character, it gives you a little bit of insight into each one, and as you are trying to figure out what is going one, it is really fun to hear from all the different characters. (Some readers and reviewers have stated that having the multiple 3rd person point of views made it so the reader didn't really know anyone, but I think it actually helped me get to know everyone a little bit. It also allows for the reader to get snippets of not just the mystery but of the characters allowing you to build the complete character in your head.)
Another brilliant think Crutcher did was include foreshadowing scenes right at the beginning of the novel that did not make sense until the end and then I had to go back and read it. Well done!
Also, if you ever need a mentor text on complex sentence structure or descriptive language--Crutcher is for you!
Mostly, though, this book will find its home in teens' hands. It will be as loved as other Crutcher books.
We flagged: "He hits the water, involuntarily sucking air as the cold leaks in. The colder the better. He deserves this. Even so, he pees in self-defense, his only means to counter the ice-watery fingers creeping around his ribcage and into his crotch. He swims away from shore for about a hundred yards as his body heat warms the water inside the suit. He turns parallel to the shore and strokes, finding a candence he can hold over the next two hours. He knows how to play games to allay the monotony; fifty stroke hard, fifty strokes easy; a hundred strokes hard, fifty easy; a hundred-fifty hard, fifty easy, and on and on. An hour up and an hour back. He has taught himself to breathe on either side in order to keep the shore in sight and swim a relatively straight line. On this morning, working on zero sleep, he holds an even pace; no intervals. Just his sweet Hannah wedged in his frontal lobe. His gone Hannah." (p. 3-4)
Full review at: http://www.unleashingreaders.com/?p=2620
Now, this is not a "normal" Chris Crutcher book, but like all of his books, it is raw, true, and sports plays a role of some sort. And this one is SO full of suspense for the last 25%. It is a hold your breath, read as quickly as you can kind of book there at the end. (I do wish that this suspense had been spread out to 50% of the book. This would have helped the pacing a bit and I think it would have given Crutcher more time to give information into the crime. Although the quick pacing at the end adds to the suspense, I think spreading it out a bit would have kept the suspense and given more time to delve further into the bad guys and the mystery.)
I, personally, really loved how he chose to tell the story in 3rd person. Although it doesn't give as much insight into one character, it gives you a little bit of insight into each one, and as you are trying to figure out what is going one, it is really fun to hear from all the different characters. (Some readers and reviewers have stated that having the multiple 3rd person point of views made it so the reader didn't really know anyone, but I think it actually helped me get to know everyone a little bit. It also allows for the reader to get snippets of not just the mystery but of the characters allowing you to build the complete character in your head.)
Another brilliant think Crutcher did was include foreshadowing scenes right at the beginning of the novel that did not make sense until the end and then I had to go back and read it. Well done!
Also, if you ever need a mentor text on complex sentence structure or descriptive language--Crutcher is for you!
Mostly, though, this book will find its home in teens' hands. It will be as loved as other Crutcher books.
We flagged: "He hits the water, involuntarily sucking air as the cold leaks in. The colder the better. He deserves this. Even so, he pees in self-defense, his only means to counter the ice-watery fingers creeping around his ribcage and into his crotch. He swims away from shore for about a hundred yards as his body heat warms the water inside the suit. He turns parallel to the shore and strokes, finding a candence he can hold over the next two hours. He knows how to play games to allay the monotony; fifty stroke hard, fifty strokes easy; a hundred strokes hard, fifty easy; a hundred-fifty hard, fifty easy, and on and on. An hour up and an hour back. He has taught himself to breathe on either side in order to keep the shore in sight and swim a relatively straight line. On this morning, working on zero sleep, he holds an even pace; no intervals. Just his sweet Hannah wedged in his frontal lobe. His gone Hannah." (p. 3-4)
ipomoea's review
3.0
What I liked: the characters, their dialogue, the teenage social situations and reactions.
What I couldn't buy: the deep dark secret. Really? He's not just a garden-variety jerk, he's also a forcible pimp and drug dealer at the behest of his abusive father?
What I couldn't buy: the deep dark secret. Really? He's not just a garden-variety jerk, he's also a forcible pimp and drug dealer at the behest of his abusive father?
emilymorgan02's review
4.0
Wow. That's almost all I can say. This is a page turner...it's disturbing...it's intense...and it left me guessing...loved the main character and all of his depth. There's a lot of language and the premise is quite mature...
beths0103's review
3.0
This was one ARC I had to nab at NCTE in November, and while I found the story to be interesting, I thought this most definitely was not classic Chris Crutcher. Yes, there's lots of strong language and controversial, challenge-worthy scenes that we're used to seeing in a Chris Crutcher novel, but behind all the grit, there is usually an equal layer of heart and feeling for the characters. I found myself feeling nothing for any of the characters in this novel, even the bad guys.
What sustained my reading and kept me turning the page was the suspenseful plot (that really didn't start to pick up until page 120) which was carried mostly by dialogue. In that regard, it would be a great selection for reluctant readers, especially guy readers, which has always been Crutcher's target audience.
What sustained my reading and kept me turning the page was the suspenseful plot (that really didn't start to pick up until page 120) which was carried mostly by dialogue. In that regard, it would be a great selection for reluctant readers, especially guy readers, which has always been Crutcher's target audience.
kiwiwonder's review
5.0
Period 8, in many ways, is not the typical type of book I'd read. For one, it has a sports-type cover - that alone is enough to usually signal that it's not my type of book. For another, it's largely about a male protagonist, and that combined with sports doesn't tend to be what I read.
However, I've read books by Chris Crutcher before, and that makes all the difference. He is one of the best young-adult writers, in my opinion, though over here at least he's largely unknown.
Although most of the books I've read by him do star a male protagonist who's also an athlete, they are by and large not sports books - that's just the details that make up the character. Instead, Crutcher writes about hard-hitting issues relevant to teens, in a realistic manner.
Period 8 is no exception. Period 8 is an informal lunch-hour meeting of friends hosted by a popular teacher at the highschool. As a highschool teacher myself, I found some of the aspects of the book a little hard to believe in terms of professionalism. However, the teacher in the story often points these things out, and is rather cavalier about the whole thing as he's retiring at the end of the school year and undoubtedly is tenured anyway. Despite that, he serves as both a sounding board and a moral compass for the group, and the issues that come up within the group. Saying anything further would be spoiling.
Well written and believable, enough intrigue and drama to keep the book moving, some aspects are predictable but not so much as to be dull - rather the type of predictability that makes you want to keep reading to see if you're right.
The year is young, but so far this is tied for my favourite read this year.
However, I've read books by Chris Crutcher before, and that makes all the difference. He is one of the best young-adult writers, in my opinion, though over here at least he's largely unknown.
Although most of the books I've read by him do star a male protagonist who's also an athlete, they are by and large not sports books - that's just the details that make up the character. Instead, Crutcher writes about hard-hitting issues relevant to teens, in a realistic manner.
Period 8 is no exception. Period 8 is an informal lunch-hour meeting of friends hosted by a popular teacher at the highschool. As a highschool teacher myself, I found some of the aspects of the book a little hard to believe in terms of professionalism. However, the teacher in the story often points these things out, and is rather cavalier about the whole thing as he's retiring at the end of the school year and undoubtedly is tenured anyway. Despite that, he serves as both a sounding board and a moral compass for the group, and the issues that come up within the group. Saying anything further would be spoiling.
Well written and believable, enough intrigue and drama to keep the book moving, some aspects are predictable but not so much as to be dull - rather the type of predictability that makes you want to keep reading to see if you're right.
The year is young, but so far this is tied for my favourite read this year.
savannahl09's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0