Right Behind You

by Gail Giles

Hardcover, 2007

Status

Available

Call number

F Gil

Call number

F Gil

Barcode

780

Publication

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (2007), 304 pages

Description

After spending over four years in a mental institution for murdering a friend in Alaska, fourteen-year-old Kip begins a completely new life in Indiana with his father and stepmother under a different name, but not only has trouble fitting in, he finds there are still problems to deal with from his childhood.

User reviews

LibraryThing member JRlibrary
Kip set another boy on fire, accidentally, when he was nine. He spend a long time in a juvenile ward, and was finally deemed fit to rejoin society. Kip seems to have an inner desire to self combust, however, because he decides to come clean about his past, and it is a disaster. He and his father
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and step mom have to move, and he has to keep his past a secret in order to avoid persecution. He feels like he can't live a new life, unless he reveals his past to a girl he is interested in. Will this turn into a second disaster?
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LibraryThing member dfullmer
This was a striking YA novel about a young man struggling to move on with his life after killing a boy at the age of nine. The killing was an act of rage, and he did not intend for the boy to be harmed. Kip spends several years in a youth detention facility and then is released to his father's
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care. I found this book to be similar in tone to Looking for Alaska but without the heavy themes of drugs and sex. Both books deal with the consequences of a spur of the moment decision that went terribly wrong. I would recommend this to any teen 14+.
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LibraryThing member bellalibrarian
Skip sets a boy on fire when he is ten years old. While Skip is being held in a mental hospital, life does not continue as he knew it. Once Skip leaves the hospital, he and his family must make many changes in order for them all to adjust.

A great novel about mistakes, facing the past, and finding
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those individuals in our future whom we can trust.
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LibraryThing member kpickett
When Kip was nine he set another boy on fire. Since then he has been living in a mental facility for criminally insane teenagers. Kip is now 14 and he is getting out. His family changes their name and moves to Indiana. Can Kip keep his secret and live a normal life or is he destined to ruin his own
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happiness? Not quite as gripping for me as Gail Giles other books but still relatively suspenseful.
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LibraryThing member MeriJenBen
Kip set his next door neighbor on fire when he was 9 years old. Reeling from the death of his mother, and cut off from his father, his anger took control of him. Kip spends the next 4 years in a mental hospital, and then, under an assumed name, tries to live a normal life. Although Kip may be gone,
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Wade still feels the need to punish himself, until he meets a special girl.

This is excellently written, as are all of Giles' books. However, this work feels much smaller in scope and more personal than her other work. Kip/Wade is remarkably believable and sympathetic, and the reader aches at his destructive choices. This would make a great book for discussion and sharing.
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LibraryThing member tbergmeier769
Kip was a normal Alaskan boy who lived in the bush. The only thing that made him different was that he burned a kid to death when he was 9. For the next 5 years he spent time in a mental ward for kids. He spent that time trying to find out why he kill Bobby. When he gets let out he has to change
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everything about him, his name, where he lived, and he now had to go to high school. Can Kip keep his secret?
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LibraryThing member elizardkwik
From the unfortunate incident in Alaska to a beach house in Texas, this book, told in journal format, chronicles the thoughts and actions of Kip/Wade as he goes through therapy, trying to lose his "hungry ghost". Though a little intimidated by the issues covered in this book, I was pleasantly
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surprised at how much I enjoyed the book. It was well-written and made you understand what was going through the main character's head, even though sometimes his actions made me want to shake him.
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LibraryThing member TigerLMS
Kip McFarland lost his mom to cancer when he was a little boy. In a fit of anger and jealousy while his dad and aunt were fighting about custody, Kip lit a seven year old boy on fire and killed him. It's a painful secret to carry, even in the therapy home he's sent to. Kip discovers the toll it has
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taken on his dad, and eventually gets a new shot at life as a teenager with a new identity and moves from Alaska to Indiana. He allows the past to catch up to him, though, and realizes he can't continue to outrun the past. When can he forgive himself? When can he trust others to? In a book similar to What Happened To Cass McBride, Gail Giles has written an introspective book that forces characters to analyze their values, morals, and beliefs-- and question their trust in themselves and others. This YA literature is a little slow through the first third (Kip in therapy), but the subject matter keeps the pages turning. It's the second half of the book that offers Giles at her best as Wade (Kip's new identity) struggles to earn the trust of those he loves-- most especially himself. I think this will have broad appeal to guys and girls in high school.
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LibraryThing member jistover
I loved this book. It got me hooked right away. It was very fast flowing and easy to read. I think that one of the book's strengths is that it teaches us how to deal with interpersonal issues and how we can resolve them. One of the weaknesses is that it could have gone on more at the end of the
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book.
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LibraryThing member KBroun
This is a dark though entertaing story of who should be the happiest high school student ever, except for his gnawing secret. This story is excellently written and should be highly interesting to all high school readers. The format of the book is also very well done, with the book divided into
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several parts preceeded by someone thinking in the present, let the reader know they are not the only one reading the story. The message to students should be clear, people who may appear perfect on the outside may be suffering on the inside. To be honest I did not understand the Hi-Lo genre (highly appealing to low level readers, what does that mean?), that is until I read this book. I know understand and think this book is the perfect example. High school students with low reading ability should not have to read books written for middle schoolers. They should have options, such as this book, that deal with more mature questions and themes. Why would they be encouraged to read if they don't find the material interesting?
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LibraryThing member GaylDasherSmith
Great, riviting character study. It was interesting to see someone for whom the act of establishing intimacy by sharing personal details can be dangerous.
LibraryThing member TheTaleTemptress
Let me start out by saying that I was prepared to hate this book. I have very strongly held opinions on certain things, and one of them is that it's completely unforgiveable for someone to murder a child, even if the perpetrator was a child himself. I often cling to my beliefs and stubbornly refuse
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to be swayed, even, I'm ashamed to admit, when someone can logic me out of them. This book shook my beliefs.I found myself becoming so sympathetic to Kip/Wade, even if I didn't want to. There were extenuating circumstances, of course, that made Kip's act slightly different than one that might be committed by a truly sociopathic kid in training. Kip was intending to destroy something when he did it, and the fact that the victim caught fire was not intended. Does that make the act any easier to forgive or forget? No. Does it make it more excusable? No. Does it make it all right? No. But it does make the resulting journey to redemption more believable and desired.Kip/Wade spends his years after emerging from juvenile, moving around with his family, as, just because the doctor's say he's rehabilitated, the angry public do not agree. He takes on a new name, a new home, and must begin his life again battling the guilt and shame of what he did. If his journey were portrayed as anything less than grueling and remorseful, it wouldn't have been as easy to forgive him and begin to root for him. The author handles this progression through Kip's many stages of growth so thoroughly and well, that by the time the end comes, you are fully in Kip's corner.Kudos to Ms. Giles for tackling such a difficult topic. A short Q&A is at the back of the book, in which she stated that she had received so much hate mail, mainly from outraged adults, regarding this book. The fact that she had the courage to tell such a controversial story in the face of such disapproval is great, because I would not have wanted to miss this book.
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LibraryThing member Harry44
I'm a bit phys co I like creepy books like for this book ''Right Behind You ,Gail Giles". I read a lot of books really fast and I took a while to get in this book and i think that's the best part of this book.
LibraryThing member WickedWoWestwood
I liked this book because it showed how a boy had to work through a horrible incident that he had caused and how it effected his whole family for years. It may be difficult for some teens to read but it does have good lessons to be learned. I think it would be a good book to use for a teen
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discussion group.
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LibraryThing member justablondemoment
A so-so book. I really didn't get to emotionally invested. It is shelved at my local library in the Young Adult section, however, I found it to be more simplistic and Juvenile. the best part was the time he spent in the ward and I would have liked that time to have been more fleshed out. Hell of
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life though. For not only Kip but for his family as well.
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LibraryThing member orangerful
'Right Behind You' is another book from the 'Great Books for Teens' discussion group I picked.

The story starts out with a young man handing his story (the book) to someone else and telling them they need to read it. The book is him trying to relate the events of his life to this new friend. But
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Kip's life has been anything but fun. When he was 9 years old, he got angry at another kid and, in a fit of rage, set him on fire. He is sent to a juvenile prison and spends the next 4 or so years there. Eventually, he is deemed well enough to leave and goes back to rejoin society.

Another book that I was surprised I enjoyed! Gail Giles' writing is clear and quick. The chapters are short but leave you wanting more. The only complaint I have is the "reader" of the story. They disappear and reappear from the narrative at inconsistent intervals. It made that part seem a bit stretched. I think it would have been better just to leave this piece of the story out. Or perhaps to just bookend it with them getting the book and maybe their reaction to Kip's story at the end.

All in all, this book was a quick, enjoyable read. Clearly it comes from the dark side of the YA shelves, but I felt that you could identify with Kip and that made it work. The conclusion wasn't as satisfying as the rest of the book, but if you can ignore the last page, you have a solid read on your hands.

Originally posted on orangerful.vox.com
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Rating

(130 ratings; 4.1)

Pages

304
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