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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
It was good, but lacked a level of depth in plot. It's more fun than inspiring, but fun nonetheless. It wastes a lot of paper in that the pages are thick and there is a lot of indenting. The poetry is too obscure to be meaningful. Fun, read it if you're in the mood for something a little meaningful but not too much.
dark
emotional
mysterious
This book was a very fast and easy read for me. I expected some more crime story and a description of the murder. However, it was interesting to explore the feelings of the teenagers coping with the loss and their involvement. Overall, I enjoy reading this type of short novels, especially the once that are based on a true story.
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
"The finger that tips the first domino is guilty, not the dominos themselves."
Christopher Goodman wears ridiculous bell bottoms. He plays trombone in the school band. He introduces himself to every person he meets and shakes their hands. No doubt, Christ is a little eccentric, but he's a genuinely nice guy. Which is why everyone in Goldsburg, Virginia is shocked when Chris is murdered during 1979's Deadwood Days, a western street festival that draws tourists to the town every summer.
Classmates Doc Chestnut and Squib Kaplan find Chris' body during a cross country run. The entire school, the entire community, is stunned by the murder.
Doc and Squib along with Hunger McCoy, Hazel Turner, and Mildred Penny carry the burden of knowing they were together on the night of the murder and may have inadvertently played a part in the tragedy. All five of them are haunted by the events of that night and the ways things could have turned out differently as they try to make sense of their grief and guilt in Who Killed Christopher Goodman? (2017) by Allan Wolf.
This mystery is inspired by an actual murder that occurred when Wolf was a teen himself as explained in an author's note. Although Wolf was not as connected to that murder as his characters in Who Killed Christopher Goodman? he never forgot about the murder and always wondered about that lost chance at friendship.
Who Killed Christopher Goodman? features six narrators including Chris' killer. While readers might guess who the killer is early on, Wolf does an excellent job of maintaining just enough tension and suspense over the course of the novel to still keep readers wondering.
Scenes with group dialogue are written in a screenplay style which ties well with the way the cast of voices are listed in the beginning with quick identifiers: David Oscar "Doc" Chestnut, the Sleepwalker; Leonard Pelf, the Runaway; Scott "Squib" Kaplan, the Genius; Hunger McCoy, the Good Ol' Boy; Hazel Turner, the Farm Girl; and Mildred Penny, the Stamp Collector. Wolf helps to differentiate between the large cast of narrators with distinct dialects including long-winded sentences for Squib who has Tourette's and verse passages for Leonard.
Wolf uses this unique format to excellent effect to create a gripping mystery as well as a thoughtful character study where each of the six main characters grapple with their actions on the night of the murder and their blame, if any, in Christopher Goodman's death. Who Killed Christopher Goodman? is a fast-paced novel that will appeal to reluctant readers as well as fans of mystery and suspense. (In fact, I wouldn't surprised to see this get an Edgar nomination.)
Possible Pairings: Passenger by Alexandra Bracken, The Diviners by Libba Bray, The Game of Love and Death by Martha A. Brockenbrouch, Truthwitch by Susan Dennard, The Shadow Society by Marie Rutkoski, Sorcery and Cecelia by Caroline Stevemer and Patricia C. Wrede, Illusions of Fate by Kiersten White
*A more condensed version of this review appeared in the January 2017 issue of School Library Journal*
Christopher Goodman wears ridiculous bell bottoms. He plays trombone in the school band. He introduces himself to every person he meets and shakes their hands. No doubt, Christ is a little eccentric, but he's a genuinely nice guy. Which is why everyone in Goldsburg, Virginia is shocked when Chris is murdered during 1979's Deadwood Days, a western street festival that draws tourists to the town every summer.
Classmates Doc Chestnut and Squib Kaplan find Chris' body during a cross country run. The entire school, the entire community, is stunned by the murder.
Doc and Squib along with Hunger McCoy, Hazel Turner, and Mildred Penny carry the burden of knowing they were together on the night of the murder and may have inadvertently played a part in the tragedy. All five of them are haunted by the events of that night and the ways things could have turned out differently as they try to make sense of their grief and guilt in Who Killed Christopher Goodman? (2017) by Allan Wolf.
This mystery is inspired by an actual murder that occurred when Wolf was a teen himself as explained in an author's note. Although Wolf was not as connected to that murder as his characters in Who Killed Christopher Goodman? he never forgot about the murder and always wondered about that lost chance at friendship.
Who Killed Christopher Goodman? features six narrators including Chris' killer. While readers might guess who the killer is early on, Wolf does an excellent job of maintaining just enough tension and suspense over the course of the novel to still keep readers wondering.
Scenes with group dialogue are written in a screenplay style which ties well with the way the cast of voices are listed in the beginning with quick identifiers: David Oscar "Doc" Chestnut, the Sleepwalker; Leonard Pelf, the Runaway; Scott "Squib" Kaplan, the Genius; Hunger McCoy, the Good Ol' Boy; Hazel Turner, the Farm Girl; and Mildred Penny, the Stamp Collector. Wolf helps to differentiate between the large cast of narrators with distinct dialects including long-winded sentences for Squib who has Tourette's and verse passages for Leonard.
Wolf uses this unique format to excellent effect to create a gripping mystery as well as a thoughtful character study where each of the six main characters grapple with their actions on the night of the murder and their blame, if any, in Christopher Goodman's death. Who Killed Christopher Goodman? is a fast-paced novel that will appeal to reluctant readers as well as fans of mystery and suspense. (In fact, I wouldn't surprised to see this get an Edgar nomination.)
Possible Pairings: Passenger by Alexandra Bracken, The Diviners by Libba Bray, The Game of Love and Death by Martha A. Brockenbrouch, Truthwitch by Susan Dennard, The Shadow Society by Marie Rutkoski, Sorcery and Cecelia by Caroline Stevemer and Patricia C. Wrede, Illusions of Fate by Kiersten White
*A more condensed version of this review appeared in the January 2017 issue of School Library Journal*
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a total random pick for me. I'd never heard of it, but I'm a sucker for books with titles like this. Who Killed Christopher Goodman? Well, I instantly wanted to know!!
The thing is, we kind of KNEW who killed him right away. I was hoping for a mystery and what I got was more of a story of how bad things happen-- and the trajectory that puts a person in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The book follows 6 teens (including the killer) through the events that lead up to Christopher's death. None of them knew Chris all that well, but they all feel guilt about not preventing his death. Christopher was kind of too good to be true. A guy who does his own thing, is nice to everyone and makes them feel at ease, is all-inclusive, and charming in so many ways. His personality made him the ultimate tragic victim.
I didn't dislike the book, but I also didn't think it was great. This was more of a case where the story is there, but the writing didn't bring it life. The only character I really clicked with was Doc, the "sleepwalker" who has a crush on the girl who is crushing on Christopher Goodman. I thought that the use of multiple perspectives (which I usually love) didn't do anything for the book. I think Doc's and the killer's should have been the only ones.
OVERALL: I liked it, but wanted more of a mystery (I mean, the title is a bit misleading in that regard, no??). I thought the idea of the story could have worked, but the writing sort of held it back. A few more drafts of this book may have been needed.
My Blog:
The thing is, we kind of KNEW who killed him right away. I was hoping for a mystery and what I got was more of a story of how bad things happen-- and the trajectory that puts a person in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The book follows 6 teens (including the killer) through the events that lead up to Christopher's death. None of them knew Chris all that well, but they all feel guilt about not preventing his death. Christopher was kind of too good to be true. A guy who does his own thing, is nice to everyone and makes them feel at ease, is all-inclusive, and charming in so many ways. His personality made him the ultimate tragic victim.
I didn't dislike the book, but I also didn't think it was great. This was more of a case where the story is there, but the writing didn't bring it life. The only character I really clicked with was Doc, the "sleepwalker" who has a crush on the girl who is crushing on Christopher Goodman. I thought that the use of multiple perspectives (which I usually love) didn't do anything for the book. I think Doc's and the killer's should have been the only ones.
OVERALL: I liked it, but wanted more of a mystery (I mean, the title is a bit misleading in that regard, no??). I thought the idea of the story could have worked, but the writing sort of held it back. A few more drafts of this book may have been needed.
My Blog:
Usually when a book bounces around between characters, I get confused. Not so with this book. I could figure out how the different lines connected to make the whole picture and it was interesting to see the chain reaction of events. I knew the outcome but not how it came about. Initially I didn't know who had done the deed, but figured it out as the story went along. I think what made the most impact on me was the fact that if any of these events had changed, the outcome (C Goodman's murder) might not have happened. But then again, it might still have happened. We'll never know.
Thirty-seven years after the murder of a fellow high school classmate, Wolf tells a fictionalized version of the events leading up to the fateful Saturday night in small town Virginia in 1979. The story is told from alternating points of view of six characters, five who are friends with Christopher and one who turns out to be his killer. Christopher is a good and kind person, someone everyone likes, and his death is not only shocking to his friends but to the entire town. How could something like this happen? Wolf gives voice to the friendships and rivalries of several of the teenagers who knew Christopher best and the ensemble cast of narrators do an amazing job adding tone, humor and emotion. This novel is part crime fiction, part physiological thriller and part tribute to a friend taken far too soon. This is a short and powerful story about how guilt ridden a person can feel despite having nothing to do with the actual crime. Relating to a time well before cell phones and even cable television, this can easily sit within a historical fiction collection. The author’s note at the end of the narration sets the record straight how much of the novel is fictionalized.
Recommended grades 9 and up.
Recommended grades 9 and up.