Shock Point
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- £2.99
Publisher Description
With heart-pounding action and suspense, this young adult thriller delves into the dangerous world of a boot camp for troubled teens.
“Henry packs her first [young adult] novel with the quick action and suspense that will keep even reluctant readers turning the pages.”—School Library Journal
It was the rough hand over her mouth that convinced Cassie that what was happening was real.
Without warning, Cassie is thrown in the back of a van and shipped off to Peaceful Cove, a boot camp in Mexico for troubled teens. Her stepfather, Rick, has convinced Cassie’s mom that Cassie needs help and that Peaceful Cove is a wonderful place. But Cassie knows the real reason why Rick wants to get rid of her: Rick, a child psychiatrist, has been prescribing Socom, an experimental drug, to his teen patients. She knows Rick will make a lot of money if Socom is approved by the FDA. And she’s unearthed the fact that three of Rick’s patients have died after taking it. Now Cassie has discovered the truth about Peaceful Cove, too: it’s really a brutal prison, where the only way out is to make it to graduation. But by then, more kids could die.
Can Cassie escape and tell the world what she knows?
And even if she does, will anyone believe her?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Henry's (the Claire Montrose mystery series) first YA thriller is a suspenseful tale of betrayal. As the novel opens, 10th-grader Cassie is kidnapped in her own driveway as her mother and psychiatrist stepfather, Rick, not only stand by and watch, but also hand the men a suitcase. Chapters alternate from the present to the events of the past few days, during which Cassie has uncovered Rick's files about teen patients who had committed suicide while on a drug called Socom (in which he has a heavy financial investment). Consequently, Rick plants drugs in Cassie's room to convince her mother that the girl belongs in a school for troubled teens in Mexico. The place is a like a prison. Cassie and nearly 200 other teenagers are not allowed to talk; they must abide by a rigid set of dehumanizing rules, and are cruelly punished if they do not comply. The supporting characters may be two-dimensional (when Cassie's sole friend walks her home, Rick says, "Is that really the kind of young man you want to be associating with? Research shows that a child's friends can have a significant impact on academic standing and social labeling"), but the alternating chapters help to build suspense. The meat of the story is Cassie's attempt to escape. She is an appealing, resourceful character struggling against too many odds-and readers may well stick with this tale to see if she succeeds. Ages 12-up.
