By Prathyush K.
The Body of Christopher Creed is the sort of book I'd normally never
pick up out of pure curiousity. Normally, I'd pick up a good high
fantasy or sword and sorcery novel, but a psychological thriller that
deals with the effects of bullying? Not exactly my cup of tea.
However, I have to say, I am certainly glad that I read this book.
The Body of Christopher Creed is the story of Torey Adams, the
narrator, and what happens to him and his town when the town's
favorite punching bag, Christopher Creed, disappears. The only
evidence that they have of his disappearance is a note that may or may
not have been left behind by Creed. As Torey himself puts it, the rest
of the story is about the "strange mess that occurs when the weirdest
kid in town suddenly disappears. He's gone, but his weirdness seems to
linger. It grabs at the most normal and happy kids and then it's those
people that are acting weird. And then there's the black hole
itself-the thing that comes out of nowhere and eats a kid alive and
doesn't leave a hair from his head."
The plot hooked me rather quickly, despite it starting at a somewhat
confusing place. The story starts in the future with Torey reminiscing
about the events that happened last year. While confusing at first, it
makes sense towards the end why the author chose to start at such an
awkward place, chronologically speaking. The story progresses at a
good pace, not too fast, but not too slow. However, it could have
stood to be somewhat faster. The narration style was an honest
depiction of how most teenagers might talk and think, without slipping
into the stereotypical style of teenager speech.
I would recommend this book to ninth-graders and higher. Reading this
book does require a certain amount of maturity after all. Should
anyone get the chance to read this wonderfully crafted novel, they
should not hesitate to do so.
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