Surrender
Grade 9 Up–When Anwell was seven, he caused the death of his developmentally disabled older brother. Several years later, he meets a boy his age, a wild child named Finnigan, and the two forge an unorthodox yet formidable bond. As this psychological thriller gracefully unfolds, Anwell–who now calls himself Gabriel, in reference to the archangel–and Finnigan take turns narrating an array of possible facts, probable lies, and half-truths. That Anwell/Gabriels parents are cold and repressive is probably true. That Finnigan ever intended to keep his promise to be Gabriels friend is patently false. Through the years of the boys adolescence, their small Australian town is plagued by arson. Anwells father gathers a vigilante troop to ward away the firebug while his son curries favor with the local cop by telling him when and where the vigilantes are headed. The boys share a hound named Surrender; he is a thief and marauder, not unlike at least one of his owners. As this stew of unhappiness, mischief, and outright criminality unwinds–apparently while young Gabriel lies on his deathbed–readers come to realize that he is schizophrenic. Whether his avenging efforts truly come to murder, in the form of patricide, isnt crystal clear. But it doesnt need to be: the plot is relentless, just as Finnigans efforts to torture Gabriel and Gabriels efforts to quell Finnigan appear to be in the end.–Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CACopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.