The Terrorist

I'm honestly not sure what to make of this book. I finished it, so it wasn't a horrible storyline, but it was far from one of the better novels that I've read. I think the premise was a little juvenile and lacked inspiration, but the writing style and the suspense of the hunt for Billy's killer was enough to keep me reading. There were a few typos in the book, which (while it didn't distract from the enjoyment) just added salt to the wound of lacking plot. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone that doesn't like the "Young Adult" genre, but it wasn't terrible. It does address some of the nasty preconceptions of Americans and how poorly we're percieved by the rest of the world, but it does nothing to talk about the plutocracy found in this international school. Which is to say that it is, in short, a read that only serves to entertain; not educate.

I was pretty surprised to see this book included in Google's 25-billion-download celebration list of "25 banned books/Modern Classics." This book may have been left off many reading lists, but that's no surprise to anyone who's read it. When it was challenged, it was on the basis that it was racist and small-minded, challenges that few have defended it against. (Keep in mind that the book was released pre-9/11 and had already faded into relative obscurity by 2001 - when it was challenged in the late 1990s, the publisher's very weak defense was "we don't censor books" - a rather silly statement.) I never considered recommending it as a tutor, post- or pre-9/11. If Google was looking for a truly controversial, truly classic young adult book to include in its 25 "Classics" list ... I'd have suggested something like "Forever" by Judy Blume. That book made a HUGE cultural impact (unlike "The Terrorist," which came and went with barely a whimper). It was immensely controversial. It has just recently been released in e-book format, an event considered newsworthy of a feature story by The New York Times. And ... it's good. An honest-to-goodness classic worthy of the title.

I read this book when I was in fifth or sixth grade, and it has stuck with me ever since. I still remember the vivid details, such as Billy covering up the box with himself in order to decrease the damage done by the explosion. (On a side note, how many kids not only know that if you cover up a bomb with your body that you'll decrease the size of the explosion, but also think that when they're handed a box in a London tube that it will be a bomb?) The book was written well and, as all good crime novels should be written, makes it possible for you to figure out the ending near the beginning. This makes the ending much more impactful. Is it a good book for a middle-school student? Yes! Certainly! It was one of the first books I read that actually treated me like an intelligent person, not putting me in a box thinking I couldn't comprehend things because I was a child. Is it a good book for a teenager? Maybe. Is it a good book for an adult? No. Go read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.