Quad by: C.G. Watson

Quad by: C.G. Watson

Published: May 10, 2007 by Razorbill

Summary:

Everything led up to this moment—the point when the teasing, the cruelty, the pressure all became too much. And someone finally snapped.

Now six students, from six different cliques, are trapped in the student store while a shooter terrorizes their school. The shooter's identity is teased out through the students' flashbacks until the reader breathlessly reaches the final page. It's only there that he discovers the shocking answer to the question: Who is shooting out in the quad?

This gripping thriller by educator C. G. Watson is inspired by observations made in her own high school. Quad examines in heartrending detail how even the most casual cruelties can tear people apart.

Review: Quad was a very surprising read that was filled with such anger, that by the end I wanted to punch a couple of characters in the face.

Forced to seek shelter after shots are fired at their high school, Ranger, Ken, Maggie, Sage, Calvert, and Christopher are forced to take shelter in the school store. All six kids are from six different cliques. They know that it has to be one of their friends. Could it be Stone on a steroid rage? Or Perry the choirboy with a vengeance? Or Rufus, the freak with a score to settle?

I didn't expect much from this with Quad since I didn't hear much about it,but it really blew me away. I would find myself scrambling through pages to find out what would happen next. With this book, you are brought back and forth from the past and the present. I really loved this because it gave you more insight on what happened to the character before and what was happening in the quad. I could really see this becoming a movie.

There were a ton of POVs for this, but I felt that most of the characters were highly developed. My favorite would probably be Ranger, I found him to be funny and the kind of person I would hang out with. I also liked Paisley, Sage, Hayley, Ken and Theo. These people were all normal, nice people and when I needed to, I sympathized them. I hated Maggie the most I think. She was a loser who thought she was different but was just like the mean guys. Speaking of the mean kids, boy oh boy, what I would give to slap Brittany and Nicole! Gosh, these girls took mean to a whole new level! And Stone...let's just say by the end I wanted to kick him where the sun don't shine.

The only problem I had with this was the ending. Yes, I never saw it coming, but it left me with so many questions. I felt that there should have been an epilogue or at least one more chapter.

Overall: 4.5 stars

You can find out more about the author and book here.