3/5 Stars
Release Date: October 1, 2011
From the Publisher: Danny Lopez is new in town. He made a mistake back home in Las Vegas, and now he has landed at an experimental school in Colorado for “tough cases.” At the Cobalt Charter School, everything is scripted-what the teachers say, what the students reply-and no other speaking is allowed. This supercontrolled environment gives kids a second chance to make something of themselves. But with few freedoms, the students become sitting ducks for a killer determined to “clean up” Colorado Springs.
368 Pages, Amulet Books
This was neither the best nor the worst book I’ve ever read. I found parts of it very disturbing to read, particularly at the beginning. However, McKinty does an excellent job putting the reader inside the villain’s head. I was reminded of Ted Dekker several times throughout.
Overall, the book doesn’t flow very well. The point of view switches characters often, sometimes in mid-paragraph, making it somewhat difficult to keep up with. That being said, the story was an interesting read. While it does involve a killer and a school with a “supercontrolled environment,” the publisher’s summary really has nothing to do with the plot of the book. There was an anti-religion undertone to the novel that also had nothing to do with the story line itself, and I often found my questioning why it was there.
I give it 3 out of 5 stars, and believe teenage boys would probably enjoy it more than I did – as well as horror/suspense/mystery aficionados.
