Blank Confession by Pete Hautman

Title: Blank Confession
Author: Pete Hautman
ISBN: 9781442410282
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Page #: 170
Source: ARC from Work (coworker wanted my opinion on it)

Summary:
"A MURDER CONFESSION IS ONLY THE BEGINNING OF THE MYSTERY.

Shayne Blank walks into the police station and confesses to having killed someone.

How could the quiet, unassuming new kid in town be a murderer? It's hard to believe, but as Shayne tells his story, Detective Rawls is forced to face the reality that Shayne may be more - a lot more - than he seems.

But who is he?"
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First Lines:

"Five lousy minutes.
Detective George Rawls hung up the phone, brought his feet down from the cluttered desktop, looked at his watch, and sighed. If the kid had walked into the station five minutes later, Rawls's shift would have been over."
Page 1
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Review:

I was given this book by one of my coworkers because he wanted my opinion on it. I'm not sure yet what his take was and why, but I have to say that I really liked this book. I've been trying to remember if I've read any of Hautman's other books. Now that I've read this one, I'm leaning toward no.

This is the story of a boy who walks into a police station and gives them a complete account of how they killed someone - starting from the beginning of the story. You also get another side of the story - Mikey - who is a friend of the one confessing. It's nice to get both sides (well, not sides - because they're friends. But another view on the situation). And it's a full story from start to finish. And the ending isn't quite how you expect it to be. There are hints, but you really don't have a good idea.

This book is definitely not for the faint of heart. It's fairly realistic, which is scary when it comes to drug use and dealers and all of that. It's a big part of the story. For that reason and that reason only, I'm going to be recommending it the higher age teens. Almost every drug imaginable is discussed (erm, I'm not an expert, so there's probably a lot more that I don't know). I'm not giving anything away by saying the main characters are good guys, so don't worry about that. Drugs are just a really big part of the story, so if you have problems with that, don't pick up this book.

As for anyone else, I think this book is compelling, realistic (with a few too many motorcycles), mysterious, and a really good read. What's even more interesting about this book is that I feel like i know these kids. I can easily place them in reality. They are distinct and interesting and worth getting to know.

When this book comes out in November (2010), I will be handing it to many of my teens looking for hard core realistic fiction. This is no sissy read! I promise you that. I would like to have gotten a little more out of the ending, but I think it holds up nicely.

Check out Pete Hautman's website for more info about the book release and more.
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Other Blog Reviews:

hoooo-kay. Looks like no one else has reviewed this one yet. Please let me know if you have so I can add you to my list. I look forward to seeing more reviews in the future (at least, closer to November). :)