The Body of Christopher Creed
by Carol Plum-Ucci
Assignment: #1 of narrative annotations
Publication info.: Harcourt, 2000. 248 p.
Genre & Format: Mystery; Novel
Awards/Reviews: VOYA and SLJ
Grades: 8 and up
Summary: Torey, all-around good guy athlete, tells about why going to a private school away from home was the only way he could escape the grief of looking for Christopher Creed. Creed is the kid that begs to be bullied by everyone. He lives in a strict household that seems to have lost sight of the need to teach/model “normal” social behavior. When Creed leaves a cryptic note that implies a possible suicide or runaway mission, the parents and police look to lay blame on the kids that bullied him, even considering a boondock thug for murder. As Tory worries that maybe he, and everyone else, was at fault for sending Creed down that road, he believes that finding him is the only way to seek absolution.
Comments: I was hooked every step of the way. Even in the end when things start to fall into place, there was still an unexpected twist. I think students will see themselves in one or more of these characters, often relating as both a bully and the one being bullied in different situations in his/her life. I did (I’ll never forgive myself for the smallest of transgressions as a popular eighth grader).
Booktalking ideas: Are you a bully? Are you sure? Do you ever use the power you have that comes with either money, popularity, beauty, or talent to make other people fell less powerful? Even in the slightest way? Or maybe you see yourself as the one being bullied in any of these situations. My last question to all of you is: What do you do when someone begs to be bullied because they do everything about being a member of society wrong?
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