Garden, Nancy. Endgame.

GARDEN, Nancy. Endgame. Harcourt. c2006. 304p. 0-15-205416-2. $17.00. S

Garden's novel is one "ripped from the headlines." Fifteen-year-old Gray Wilton is a troubled boy who lashes out against the harassment he has faced in high school with deadly violence. As the novel begins, he is in jail, talking with his defense attorney, and through their dialog we hear about his difficulties with his family and at his high school. He has a history of behavioral problems in school, where he finds it hard to control his anger. His father wants him to be more like his older brother, Peter, the stereotypical good kid. His mother tries to be supportive, but she herself is not strong, easily giving in to her husband. Gray is a talented musician, and Peter supports and encourages him even though Gray does not always appreciate him for it. In school, Gray becomes friends with the kid who is regularly picked on and predictably becomes a target himself. The bullies are the jocks and their harassment escalates from name calling to sexual abuse in a graphic shower room scene. In the end, Gray never seems to fully understand what he has done or why he was wrong.

There is much here for high school readers to talk about though the theme is a familiar one, calling for young people to be more tolerant of one another. Janis Flint-Ferguson, Assoc. Prof., English, Gordon College, Wenham, MA