McPhee, Peter. Out of time.

McPHEE, Peter. Out of time. Lorimer, dist. by Orca. 163p. c2003. 1-55028-796-6. $4.99. JS

With suicide the leading cause of death among YAs, the topic of this novel is timely. Three friends, who consider themselves outsiders, form a suicide pact. One succeeds. One injures herself, with the prognosis unknown. One is missing. Eilean, a fourth member of the group, has somehow been excluded from all talk of suicide and is unaware of her friends' despair. She is now isolated by school officials and considered "at risk" because of her own mother's suicide some years before. Eilean escapes from school administrators' eyes to search for her friend. She is assisted by Ron Freis, a boy with a reputation for bullying and probably partly responsible for one boy's participation in the original pact. The story is told from multiple points of view: Eilean's, Ron's, and those participating in the pact. In this way, the motives of all the characters are revealed, giving rise to understanding not only for those who kill themselves but those who bully because they have been bullied by adults in their lives. The ending is inconclusive, even though, at times, the book reads more like a suspense thriller than a sober exploration of the consequences of suicide. Nevertheless, the suspense thriller elements are what will keep young people reading to the finish line. Myrna Marler, Assoc. Prof. of English, BYU, Provo, UT