This Side of Paradise - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0971233691 ISBN 13: 9780971233690

Inhaltsangabe

Something wicked this way comes; in this case it's Jack Barrett's father, whose inherent drive for perfection has spiraled into a raging obsession ever since he began working for the mysterious Eden Corporation. When his father forcibly relocates the family to Paradise, a village that is literally owned by Eden's enigmatic CEO, Jack uncovers a sinister plot that threatens the lives of everyone he loves. Delving even further into the secrets of the village, he soon learns just how high the price for perfection can be . . . and to what lengths some people are willing to go to obtain it.

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Dr. Steven L. Layne has over a decade of teaching experience in both elementary and junior high schools and serves as an adjunct faculty member at Wheaton College, Northern Illinois University, and Judson College. He has garnered numerous awards for his work as both a researcher and an educator and is an acclaimed writer and speaker at workshops and conferences throughout the United States and Canada. His other titles include "The Teachers' Night Before Christmas," "Life's Literacy Lessons: Poems for Teachers," and "Thomas's Sheep and the Great Geography Test."

Rezensionen

Gr 8 Up-High school junior Jack is happy running with his 72-year-old motorcycle-riding, roughhousing grandmother. He is less at ease with his demanding "corporate giant" father, Chip, for whom only the best will do. Mom has been drinking too much lately and his ninth-grade brother Troy is a wrestler who is "handsomer than all get-out." Trouble begins when Dad announces he is moving the family to Paradise, a company town built by his boss, the mysterious Adam Eden. Eden provides his employees with everything-beautifully landscaped and appointed houses, modern high-tech schools- in his carefully gated community. The boys are surprised that Mom is not there to make the move, but that's only one of the mysteries. What does it mean that nobody ever leaves Paradise? Why is everyone so stiff and cold? Who lays out their school uniforms each night and how is it that Grandma has an electric drill in her makeup bag when she needs it? The characterizations are zany, the plot is a straight-out Stepford wives takeoff. Turns out that Dad is psychotic; as split-personality Chip/Adam Eden he has murdered Mom and peopled his community with less-than-perfect clones and androids. When Troy's clone sacrifices himself for Troy, Chip/Adam exclaims, "Not my son! He's the one I chose. He's perfect!" There are too many weaknesses and absurdities in the plot to enjoy even the first half of the book as realistic fiction, and too many internal inconsistencies to enjoy it as horror/science fiction.

Joel Shoemaker, Southeast Junior High School, Iowa City, IA

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 7-10. Part sf thriller, part theme-park horror ride, this first novel is set in a paradise community where everything is perfectly controlled. The story is told in a wry contemporary voice by high-school junior Jack, who joins with his rebellious grandmother and resists his dad's plans to force the family into Paradise. What must Dad do to make them fit in there? The dystopia scenario is heavy-handed ("Leave? What do you mean leave? This is Paradise. No one leaves here. Ever."), and the action-packed plot is full of coincidence and contrivance. What will hold teen readers is the horror of a parent prepared to do anything, even kill, in order to clone the perfect family. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Details zur Ausgabe

• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0971233691
• ISBN 13: 9780971233690
• Einband: Gebundene Ausgabe
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar