Body Bags, by Christopher Golden

Body Bags, by Christopher Golden. New York: Pocket Books, 1999. ISBN-10: 0671034928; ISBN-13: 978-0671034924. 272 p.

Plot Summary
As Jenna Blake begins her first year of college, she worries about her future. She'd like to be a doctor, but she can't stand the sight of blood. Her father points her toward a job with the local medical examiner. When a congressional aide suddenly goes insane and commits a murderous rampage, the autopsy shows that his brain was diseased--and filled with insect larvae. Jenna is thrown into a world of rare disease, congressional politics, and mystery as she helps solve the puzzle of what--and who--has been killing those around her.

Critical Evaluation
Golden is excellent at conveying the excitement of the first year of college. While Jenna's time as a pathology assistant is fascinating, it's nice to see her work life balanced with classes and a social life. At times, Jenna's character seems too perfect--she never misses her classes, still spends a lot of time with her professor father, and has no roommate trouble--but her curiosity and kindness still make her an appealing character.

Reader’s Annotation
During her first year of college, Jenna Blake gets a job as a pathology assistant to the local medical examiner. When two victims are killed by a disease spread by insects laying eggs in their brains, Jenna uses her smarts to help solve the case.

Author Information

Christopher Golden published his first book in 1992--a non-fiction pop culture book called Cut! Horror Writers on Horror Film, which won the Bram Stoker Award--and has been a full time writer ever since. At the time of his first book sale, he was 25 years old and writing for Billboard magazine in New York, but moved back to Massachusetts with his wife once he started working as a writer. In an interview with Cynthia Leitich Smith, he shared that he loves writing YA books because "kids and teens are so much smarter and wiser than they're often given credit for, and writing for that audience is a way for me to both communicate with younger people and to let them know that I don't feel that way, that they have my respect."

Golden has written in a number of different genres, including mystery, horror, thrillers, and fantasy, and has also published non-fiction pop-culture books, video games, comic books, an online animated series, and a movie script. Along with his YA books, he's also known for writing novelizations of popular works, including Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the novelization of Peter Jackson's King Kong. He writes more about his love of pop culture in an interview at Wondrous Reads.

Golden can be found on the web at http://www.christophergolden.com/.

Genre
Mystery

Curriculum Ties
Career exploration: pathology/medicine

Booktalking Ideas
-Excitement of the first year of college
-How Jenna  feels after her first autopsy--grossed out, but also intrigued by the idea that she can help people by examining their bodies for evidence.
Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 9-12

Challenge Issues
Gore, minimal violence.

I included this book because I enjoyed the first Body of Evidence book I read, and thought it would be interesting to read another.

Head Games, by Christopher Golden

Head Games, by Christopher Golden. New York: Simon Pulse, 2000. ISBN-10: 0671775820; ISBN-13: 978-0671775827. 256 p.

Plot Summary
In this novel from Golden's "Body of Evidence" series, Jenna Blake, assistant to the local pathologist, has returned home from her first semester of college for the Christmas break. She is horrified when three high school friends brutally murder their entire families. The police are leaning toward the idea that these teens were influenced to kill by violent video games, but as she investigates, Jenna begins to believe that someone is playing sinister head games with her classmates. Can Jenna solve this mystery before disaster strikes again?

Critical Evaluation
Golden is good at both writing the clinical details of an autopsy and creating believable relationships between Jenna and her friends. While the danger to Jenna never feels quite real in this volume, it's still interesting to follow the conclusions she comes to as she draws closer to solving the mystery. Perfect for fans of TV shows like CSI and Bones, as well as any teen who enjoys reading a good mystery.

Reader’s Annotation
Three of Jenna Blake's high school friends have brutally murdered their families. Can Jena find out who drove them to murder before another victim dies?

Author Information

Christopher Golden published his first book in 1992--a non-fiction pop culture book called Cut! Horror Writers on Horror Film, which won the Bram Stoker Award--and has been a full time writer ever since. At the time of his first book sale, he was 25 years old and writing for Billboard magazine in New York, but moved back to Massachusetts with his wife once he started working as a writer. In an interview with Cynthia Leitich Smith, he shared that he loves writing YA books because "kids and teens are so much smarter and wiser than they're often given credit for, and writing for that audience is a way for me to both communicate with younger people and to let them know that I don't feel that way, that they have my respect."

Golden has written in a number of different genres, including mystery, horror, thrillers, and fantasy, and has also published non-fiction pop-culture books, video games, comic books, an online animated series, and a movie script. Along with his YA books, he's also known for writing novelizations of popular works, including Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the novelization of Peter Jackson's King Kong. He writes more about his love of pop culture in an interview at Wondrous Reads.

Golden can be found on the web at http://www.christophergolden.com/.

Genre
Mystery

Curriculum Ties
Medical fields: pathology
Psychology: subliminal messaging

Booktalking Ideas
Read the passage where the first boy opens his Christmas presents and then kills his entire family--a great hook into the idea of the book.

Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 9-12

Challenge Issues
Graphic gore
Detailed descriptions of autopsy procedures

I included this book because both Pam Cole (Young Adult Literature in the 21st Century) and Diana Tixier-Herald (Teen Genreflecting) recommend this series as a good set of examples of the mystery genre.

Acceleration, by Graham McNamee.

Acceleration, by Graham McNamee. New York: Wendy Lamb Books, 2003. ISBN-10: 0385731191; ISBN-13: 978-0385731195. 210 p.

Plot Summary
Duncan is spending his summer working in the Dungeon--the Lost and Found of the Toronto Transit Authority. It's a boring job, and he hates being stuck in the dark basement during the sunny summer. Most of the things in the lost and found are pretty basic: wallets, glasses, sports equipment. But one day, he finds a strange diary filled with accounts of animal abuse and arson, and angry rants against women and the daily schedules of three women he's been stalking. Has he already killed one of them? As Duncan learns more from the diary, he becomes determined to find the serial killer before he claims another victim. 

Critical Evaluation
An inherent danger in mystery novels with teen protagonists is the believability of a teen solving a crime without the help of an adult, especially in a world where police and other authority figures blow off teenagers as immature and incapable. If a teen, like Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys, is able to solve crimes on his or her own with a minimum of problems, the reader's credibility can be strained. McNamee manages to dodge this bullet, and creates a believable scenario where Duncan can solve the mystery of the serial killer's identity on his own, with his only help coming from his two best friends. Although it would be nice if the story and characters could be fleshed out more than they are, Duncan is a relatable hero who must face his insecurities and fears if he is to succeed.

Reader’s Annotation
As he works in the Toronto Transit Authority's lost and found, Duncan finds the lost diary of a serial killer. Can Duncan solve the mystery of the killer's identity before anyone else gets hurt?

Author Information
McNamee describes himself as "Male. Caucasian. 5'10". Brown hair. Brown eyes. Do not approach. Extremely shy. Author of: Hate You, Nothing Wrong with a Three-Legged Dog, Sparks, and Acceleration. Hate You was an ALA Best Book for young Adults and an ALA Quick Pick, won the Austrian Children's Book Award, and was nominated for the Governor General's Award. Sparks won the PEN/Phyllis Naylor Working Writer Fellowship" (from book jacket).  McNamee doesn't have much of a web presence, and it's difficult to find information about him. However, he does share a name with a pioneering broadcaster. 

When asked if writing this book made him feel differently about the subway, McNamee answered, "my buds and I used to hang out in the subway when we were young and bored. We’d do dumb stuff, like run from one platform across the tracks to the other side. We didn’t know about the third rail back then, the one that carries the electrical current and will fry you to ashes if you touch it. And we’d dare each other to run down the tunnel to the next station. (Don’t try this at home, unless you want to get flattened into an idiot pancake.) Years later, when I was working downtown, I had to ride the subway during rush hour. Packed so tight you couldn’t move, me and the rest of the workforce drones would wait on the platform for the next train. A lot of times I’d be standing at the front, my toes inches from the edge, and I’d think how easy it would be for someone to just give me a little shove, nothing conspicuous, and push me over the edge. Staring across at the platform on the other side, I tried to figure if I could squeeze in that little space under the edge. And every time, as the train rushed in, I’d feel a tiny tug of vertigo, like I was starting to fall. But I never did feel that hand on my back, pushing me over. And I never found out if I’d fit under the edge" (source). McNamee manages to make this concern a very real prospect in Acceleration.

Genre
Mystery

Curriculum Ties
Psychology: serial killers and sociopaths

Booktalking Ideas
-Read the passage where Duncan first finds the diary and realizes what it is (p. 32).
-"What would you do if you had to solve a crime on your own without the help of the police?"

Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 7-12 (taken from the Booktalking Colorado website)

Challenge Issues
-The glorification of criminal activities as they're used to help solve the mystery
-Descriptions of the serial killer's actions and his sick mind

I included this book because YALSA includes it on their Ultimate Teen Bookshelf as a great mystery novel, a genre which is definitely underrepresented on this blog.