SPOILER ALERT!

Period 8

Period 8 - Chris Crutcher

Period.8 is about a group of students who gather together in 8th-period free period. Mr. Logs teaches it, and in it the students open up and ask for advice. Whatever happens in Period.8 stays private. While most of the students are honest, some of them will do anything to keep their secrets. (Duh-duh-DUH!)
     I am the world's biggest Crutcher fan. So, while Arney is a really interesting bad-guy, the story was fragmented. The story followed Arney, Hannah, Paulie, Detective Rankin (sort of), Logs, and has an italicized "unknown" perspective. Only Paulie's perspectives could last an entire chapter, and they didn't lead to a lot of character development. In fact, none of the characters seemed to develop very deeply. Crutcher's other first-person novels were easier to follow and were more personal. Sticking with Paulie's POV might have centered the story.
     Crutcher's books are usually funny, but this one focused on the suspense. While the suspense was (really) good, the dialogue could have used the humor. I liked the tension, and it kept up throughout the entire book. But because of that, I thought that there would be more comic relief.
     Loose End Stuff: I also didn't understand the way the bad-guy community worked. Did they all hang out and work out the details? Was it actually a prostitution ring, and if so why didn't we ever get Kylie's POV? Where did Arney's aggression come from? How was his father involved? Why is Paulie compelled to help people, and of all people why is he compelled to help
Bobby?