Selected Book
Body of Christopher Creed, The
- Paperback
- Author: Carol Plum-ucci
- Publisher: Hyperion Book CH
- Release Date: November 2001
- Reading Level: Young Adult
- ISBN-10: 0786816414
- ISBN-13: 9780786816415
- List Price: $6.99
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Summaries and Customer Reviews provided by Amazon
SummaryThe often-tortured class weirdo has disappeared, leaving an enigmatic note on the school library computer. Is he a runaway, a suicide, a murder victim? Sixteen-year-old Torey Adams and his friends remember beating up Chris Creed when his gentle but obnoxious ways exasperated them. Now that he is gone, they joke uneasily about him to ease their guilt. The town is full of ugly rumors, as Torey's lawyer mother tells them "See, guys, this is what happens when a kid suffers a personal tragedy. Nobody wants to take responsibility. Nobody wants to admit they had a part in it. So, they spend a lot of time pointing the finger, and things just get worse and worse." Suspicion of murder conveniently falls on big, tough Bo Richardson, an outcast "boon" from the boondocks edge of town. Torey's smug assumptions about people are rattled when he discovers that his childhood friend Ali is secretly romantically involved with Bo, who displays surprising tenderness and maturity in caring for her. The three try to solve the mystery of Chris's disappearance by attempting to steal his diary, but only succeed in implicating themselves, as the town is consumed with rumors and the revelation of adult secrets. Torey begins to find himself distanced from his other friends by his growing understanding of the importance of compassion toward those who are different. The Body of Christopher Creed challenges teens to think about the damage done when lines of exclusion are drawn between people. (Ages 12 and older) --Patty Campbell |
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Gripping suspense
Rating:
The Body of Christopher Creed gripped me from page 1. It's short, with great twists and turns, and won't be interrupted or put down. In short, it's a great little mystery. Carol Plum-Ucci's treatment of the primary themes - don't judge a book by its cover, and people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones - is sometimes repetitive and heavy handed - but hey, the main characters are sheltered teenagers, so we cut them (and her) some slack.
The main point is I couldn't put this book down. I listened to it unabridged on audio CD, narrated by Scott Shina, whose voice and emotion are finely matched to the material.
My favorite part was the end, which is slightly chilling. I rewound it to listen again. When it was over I just said "wow".
The Body Of Christ(opher Creed)
Rating:
Speaking as an English teacher of seventh and eighth graders, CHRISTOPHER CREED is a refreshing and challenging book filled with the kind of rich symbolism and personal introspection that teachers can spend hours poring over with kids.
Carol Plum-Ucci's debut novel is about a wealthy and popular boy named Victor who hears one day at church that the resident geek-wad at school (do they still call them geek-wads?), Christopher Creed, has gone missing. Not a hair. Not a fiber. Nothing is left but a single email that provides more questions than answers. Victor is a thoughtful kid, which is not always easy to be when your friends are mostly dismissive gossips, and the news is presented to him at a very important point in church: the point where he is wondering about the Christ on the cross.
According to history, Christ was crucified naked. And yet, on every crucifix and in every tableau of the moment, Christ is always wearing a strategic loincloth. "Why?" Victor wonders. If it's okay to show him tortured and dying, why are we all so worried about his genitals?
Plum-Ucci takes this interesting theological point and uses it to underpin a much broader social lesson. It is a lesson about the lies people tell themselves, about the lines families draw, and about how ready we are to see the blood on others, without having the guts to open our eyes to their most vulnerable and private places. Creed's disappearance and Victor's stumbling investigation into it cause massive rifts in the town and his school, exposing (to some) the secrets most people rip their eyes out not to know.
It's not what I would call a pretty book, but it feels very real, and the characters and their struggles are just as fully realized. There's a lot here to think about, and even more to remember.
TO PARENTS: This book contains swear words and also frequent references to sex and alcohol. I applaud Plum-Ucci for doing this. Teenagers, as little as you might want them to know, are all too aware of these things. Any book that seeks to connect with teens on any kind of relatable level can't possibly leave out things like this. These are the tantalizing dangers of youth (and even adulthood) and pretending like they don't exist is only asking for the teens to go out and learn about them on their own. Plum-Ucci's book in no way glorifies these things, but since it is told from the perspective of a teen, it isn't particularly harsh about them either. It's unabashed, is what it is, and rightly so.
As far as the slang: some have said that the slang/idioms used by the teens in the book are outdated and lame (do people still say "lame"?). I wouldn't know about that, living as a thirty-year old in Seoul, South Korea, but I would venture that any book that has authentic dialogue would probably be out of style in a few years anyway. Just a thought.
If you can slog through the first third of the book, it's worth it
Rating: 
It's hard to know what rating to give this book because the first third of the book was awful. The writing was so immature. It sounded like a totally unconnected adult trying to write like a teenager and failing at it. I really didn't know whether I would get through the book. But I usually like Printz award books. And, after 100 pages, the wannabe-a-cool-teenager speak ended and it got really exciting. I really enjoyed the last two-thirds of the book and it made toiling through the beginning worth it. I'm not sure how connected the author really is with teenagers. I'm a decade shy of my teen years myself, but as a teacher in both middle and high school, the inauthentic language was really a turn-off (as was her lack of computer knowledge).
First choice for Teen Book Club
Rating:
As a high school English teacher, and supervisor of a student-led Book Club, I loved this book. It is filled with all the elements of High School U.S.A.--cliques, bullies, athletes, populars, not-populars,etc. I liked getting into the mind of Torey Adams and learning his views (and questions) on spirituality, relationships, etc. There is profanity and references to sexual relationships among teens, but I was impressed with the element of teen abstinence and "doing what is right" as well.
A Great Surprise
Rating:
I stumbled upon this book in a bundle of stuff handed down to me from a friend. I wasn't even sure it was something I'd like, but I thought I'd give it a chance before I took it to the used book store for credit. I was very surprised at how fast I read it. It's rare and wonderful for me to get greedy for a book I'm reading to the point that I want to put off all other things in the day. I couldn't put the book down until I found out what happened! A quick read worth the attention.
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