Fade to Black

by Alex Flinn

Book Overview

Three perspectives -- one truth The victim: After his windshield was shattered with a baseball bat, HIV-positive Alex Crusan ducked under the steering wheel. But he knows what he saw. Now he must decide what he wants to tell. The witness: Daria Bickell never lies. So if she told the police she saw Clinton Cole do it, she must have. But did she really The suspect: Clinton was seen in the vicinity of the crime that morning. And sure, he has problems...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060568429
• ISBN13: 9780060568429
• Release Date: May 2006
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.0" x 7.2"
• Age Range: 14 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 9 and higher

Customer Reviews

a pleasant surprise

I was just browsing the shelves looking for something that might interest an adult but be easy enough for a 4th-grade reading level (I tutor adult basic education) and this book was a pleasant surprise. I ended up devouring the book, and my student enjoys reading it even though he's reluctant to start. Good characters and development, good amount of mystery. Disappointed with the ending, but overall very pleasant.

Fade to Black

This story is called Fade to Black and it is about a boy, Alex, who has a disease. Another boy, Clinton, and the whole school don't like Alex, because they don't want the disease and they tease him all the time. So one day Alex, the boy with the disease, was driving and his window crashed and he was all beat up and taken to the hospital. Everyone thought it was Clinton, because he treated Alex the worst. I thought this story was very good. It had a point, which was not to pick on people just because they look different and are different. The saddest part to me was when Alex and Clinton were talking in the hospital and started to understand each other better. To me this story was easy to understand and had a very good reason. I also liked the fact that the Author wrote the book as if the three characters wrote a diary, kind of. So I would rate this book

Loved it!

I'm a huge fan of alex flinn's books, and this one def. does not disappoint. It's a little different from her other books because its in 3 viewpoints about the same thing. I really liked how Daria's sections were told in poetry showing how she thinks. If you read the review below, I'd be really curious how carefully this person read the book because he/she says she was waiting for 2 characters to get together and talk and they didn't, but I can't imagine which characters this person means. The whole book, I was waiting for Alex and Clinton to talk and when they did it was really great. There was also a really good ending with Alex and Jennifer. In the whole it was a really good and satisfying book. Definitely recommend!

Absolute Masterpiece!!!!!

This book is an absolute masterpiece. It shuold be required reading for all middle school or high school students, as well as teachers for those age groups. Does an excellent job dealing will hate crimes, prejudice, and hatred. Anyone reading this should be able to realize no matter how different we feel we or others are; we are far more alike than we would ever imagine.

Question your first impressions

Here's the story. It's really easy to follow. Alex Crusan, the new kid in town, is HIV-positive. Everyone at school avoids him, especially semi-popular jock Clinton Cole. One morning on his way to get donuts, Alex is attacked. Someone in a blue letterman's jacket bashes in the windshield of Alex's car with a baseball bat, injuring Alex in the attack. Daria Bickell, special ed student, sees Clinton at the scene. The answer is obvious: Clinton attacked Alex. At least, the answer seems obvious. As Alex, Clinton and Daria tell the story of the attack from their own points of view, we learn more about the events leading up to the attack and how their lives change after it. Alex makes the acquaintance of Jennifer, who turns out to be his friend for all the wrong reasons. He also decides to come clean about two major cover-ups in his life. Clinton faces trouble at home as well as at school. Daria, caught between what she knows and wanting to please her mother, reveals her side slowly, always concerned with doing the right thing. As the saying goes, "There are two sides to every story, and somewhere in between, there is the truth." In this case, there are three sides to the story, and they're all handled very well. Clinton, though known for his bullying, is not an evil character without chance of redemption. Alex, tired of his family playing him for the innocent victim, grows up a lot in the ten days between the day of the accident and the day he returns to school. Alex Flinn is the queen of writing troubled yet multidimensional teens, and she doesn't disappoint with FADE TO BLACK. Read it, and question all your first impressions. --- Reviewed by Carlie Webber