- Hardcover: 144 pages
- Publisher: Viking Children's Books (Jun 4 1991)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0670835668
- ISBN-13: 978-0670835669
- Product Dimensions: 21.1 x 14.5 x 1.5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 272 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Limpid prose and an imaginative use of metaphor make this problem novel stretch beyond just another entry in the genre. Underachieving, drinking, and at odds with his single parent, Peter hides a terrible secret: his best friend Mead is dead, and it is Peter's fault. Confused and depressed, Peter calls Mead's family, pretending to be the dead boy. Peter is not insensitive, however, despite his failings, as he tries to behave morally in a world that offers little guidance or encouragement. Reminiscent of Larry Bograd's Bad Apple , this novel presents a compelling first-person look at a troubled urban youth that offers no easy outs for either protagonist or reader. Cadnum's writing deftly captures Peter's alienation without losing track of his very real--and very human--confusion. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Grade 8-12-- "Impersonating the dead is easy," muses Peter, an alcoholic high school senior, as he begins to relate his nightmarish experience of accidentally killing his best friend and then dealing with his guilt by assuming Mead's identity and calling the boy's worried parents to assure them their son is okay. What Peter discovers is that impersonating the dead is "easy" only when you've tuned out your own feelings and turned off your environment. Nothing matters to Peter; he fails school tests and detaches himself from his single-parent mother; his father, who wants his son to live with him; his girlfriend; and his friend Lani. He lives his days with alcohol and his nights without sleep. Finally, he confesses the truth to Lani and her lawyer father, who gets him needed legal and psychiatric help. Still, though, Peter is deeply haunted by the voice of his slain alter ego. Through the prism of descriptive poetic images, Peter reveals the dark details of his sleepwalking life. But the portrait of him that readers carry from this intriguing novel is so confusing and fragmented that they really know very little more about what makes him tick after finishing it than before they met him. An engaging idea that is not fully realized. --Jack Forman, Mesa College Library, San Diego
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most helpful customer reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Calling Home,
By A Customer
This review is from: Calling Home (Mass Market Paperback)
Peter and Mead were best friends until one day They got in an argument and Mead dropped the bottle of alcohol they were sharing. Peter attacked and killed him not really meaning to. He begins to worry about what Meads parents will do because his dad is really sick. He eventually calls Mead's parents on pay phones and every time talked to his mother. Will they ever catch on to him?
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
3.7 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)
4.0 out of 5 stars
"Just one more drink ...",
By Raymond Mathiesen - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Calling Home (Mass Market Paperback)
Michael Cadnum usually writes historical fiction but in this novel he struggles with the challenges of social realism. The book revolves around the theme of alcohol and drug addiction.At it's best points <Calling Home> bristles with emotional authenticity, for example, the conversation betweens Peter, the main character, and his mother when he returns home from a visit to his estranged father's place. Unfortunately Cadnum sometimes fails in his aims. At the beginning of the book he struggles, in the space of one brief chapter, to make the character Mead appear as a life-loving, best friend that everyone would like to know. Instead Cadnum only produces melodrama. The book is only 138 pages long and would have greatly benefited from more text being devoted to establishing this friendship, which is central to the story. In these days of the craze for unrealistic, teen horror novels more books of this type need to be written. There is nothing wrong with escapism but fiction can encourage the young to think about and meet the challenges of real life. <Calling Home> is certainly not a bad effort and deserves appause.
4.0 out of 5 stars
"Just one more drink ...",
By Raymond Mathiesen - Published on Amazon.com
Michael Cadnum usually writes historical fiction but in this novel he struggles with the challenges of social realism. The book revolves around the theme of alcohol and drug addiction.At it's best points <Calling Home> bristles with emotional authenticity, for example, the conversation betweens Peter, the main character, and his mother when he returns home from a visit to his estranged father's place. Unfortunately Cadnum sometimes fails in his aims. At the beginning of the book he struggles, in the space of one brief chapter, to make the character Mead appear as a life-loving, best friend that everyone would like to know. Instead Cadnum only produces melodrama. The book is only 138 pages long and would have greatly benefited from more text being devoted to establishing this friendship, which is central to the story. In these days of the craze for unrealistic, teen horror novels more books of this type need to be written. There is nothing wrong with escapism but fiction can encourage the young to think about and meet the challenges of real life. <Calling Home> is certainly not a bad effort and deserves appause. 0 of 2 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Calling Home,
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Calling Home (Mass Market Paperback)
Peter and Mead were best friends until one day They got in an argument and Mead dropped the bottle of alcohol they were sharing. Peter attacked and killed him not really meaning to. He begins to worry about what Meads parents will do because his dad is really sick. He eventually calls Mead's parents on pay phones and every time talked to his mother. Will they ever catch on to him?
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