Shattering Glass by Gail Giles

ISBN: 978-0-689-85800-0
Simon Pulse, NY 2003
215 pages

Plot Summary

High school senior Simon Glass is the school nerd right down to his plastic pencil case. He is used to being picked on until Rob, the most popular kid at school, decides to use his charisma and powers of persuasion to make Simon popular too. Rob doesn't care who he hurts along the way, and he gets away with it because his friends all need help in one way or another - help they can get from Simon's ability to hack into the school's computers. But what happens when Simon decides to take matters into his own hands - is chilling and disturbing.

Critical Evaluation

I had not heard of this book or author, so I was surprised by the book's intensity. The outcome is told at the beginning but the suspenseful way everything comes together is skillfully told. The mob rule at the end is particularly scary because things can get out of hand quickly and this group of high school boys is no worse (other than their leader) than many kids with no moral compass to guide them.

Reader's Annotation

What happens to a group of high school senior boys when their leader decides to play God and turn the nerdiest kid in school into the most popular?

Author's Info

The award-winning Shattering Glass was Gail Giles first YA novel. She has since written Dead Girls Don't Write Letters. Although Gail is a native Texan (the setting for Shattering Glass), she has lived in Chicago and now lives in Alaska with her husband, two dogs and three cats. She is a former substitute teacher who got the inspiration for the book from listening to high school students talking in the hallways about a nerdy kid needing a make-over.

Genre

realistic YA novel

Curriculum Ties

Could be used to start a discussion in Life Skills about bullying.

Booktalking Ideas

1. The group of popular boys go over to Simon's house and are surprised to learn that his home is big and beautiful. Why do they say then that they feel sorry for him?

2. Coop is basically a good kid. How does he get caught up in the "popularity" contest and what does he do to redeem himself?

Reading/ Interest Level

High school; not appropriate for younger

Challenge Issues and Defense

violence, bullying, sexual situations, sex abuse, foul language

Lots of challenge issues but this would be a good book for parents to read and discuss with their teens.

Library's collection development policy.

Starred reviews from Kirkus and Booklist and the winner of many awards including An ALA Best Book for YA, an ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers and a Booklist Top 10 Mystery for
Youth.

Why I Included This Book

This was an excellent book for discussing how important popularity is to high school students -
I selected it based on its many awards.