Status
Available
Call number
Call number
F Maz
Genres
Collection
Publication
HarperTeen (2008), 288 pages
Description
In Mallory, New York, as five sisters, aged eleven to seventeen, deal with assorted problems, conflicts, fears, and yearnings, a mysterious middle-aged man watches them, fascinated, deciding which one he likes the best.
Subjects
Original publication date
2008-02-05
Similar in this library
User reviews
LibraryThing member ctmsallison
This is one of those books where some chapters are so good that you just want to read on and on. But, giving an honest review some chapters ar really slow. These chapters don't seem to have a point. I wished I had skipped them.
There is one part in the middle of the book where it's very fast paced
While reading the book you discover that one of the characters gets taken by "The Man". This is when the story turns confusing. The story jumps from the main characters point of view then back to how her family is feeling.
Although my review contains some negative qualities about the story it is an exciting and fast paced drama. I am still recommending it as a good read. It falls just short of excellent.
There is one part in the middle of the book where it's very fast paced
Show More
and exciting. Since the story has a lot of a back and forth between characters point of view it's hard to follow sometimes.While reading the book you discover that one of the characters gets taken by "The Man". This is when the story turns confusing. The story jumps from the main characters point of view then back to how her family is feeling.
Although my review contains some negative qualities about the story it is an exciting and fast paced drama. I am still recommending it as a good read. It falls just short of excellent.
Show Less
LibraryThing member ealaindraoi
Very Creepy but Compelling!
This book is told in alternating viewpoints of 5 sisters and one very creepy unnamed man. The man is watching the sisters and we “hear” his thoughts about each of them. The 5 sisters; Beauty, Mim, Stevie, Fancy and Autumn are completely unaware of the man watching
The author pulls you right into the girl’s lives and they each become real to you. That’s why the man’s stalking of them is increasing disturbing, because we care about these girls. I really wanted to shout at them to Be Careful! several times.
A good quick thriller with no blood nor gore.
This book is told in alternating viewpoints of 5 sisters and one very creepy unnamed man. The man is watching the sisters and we “hear” his thoughts about each of them. The 5 sisters; Beauty, Mim, Stevie, Fancy and Autumn are completely unaware of the man watching
Show More
them. The author pulls you right into the girl’s lives and they each become real to you. That’s why the man’s stalking of them is increasing disturbing, because we care about these girls. I really wanted to shout at them to Be Careful! several times.
A good quick thriller with no blood nor gore.
Show Less
LibraryThing member mjsbooks
Mazer attacks the ticklish subject of pedophilia in a sensitive way. A man has been watching Autumn and her sisters without their knowing it. When she makes the mistake of trusting him, she is abducted to his house. Mazer keeps the drama from becoming too intense for young readers by sifting the
Show More
point of view between the man, Autumn, and the other sisters. Show Less
LibraryThing member librariankristin
Five sisters, aged eleven to seventeen, are watched by a man who is tring to determine which of them to abduct. Told in six alternating perspectives (including that of the plotting abductor), this is an intriguing and disturbing psychological thriller from Newbery honor author Norma Fox Mazer.
LibraryThing member welkinscheek
Beauty is the oldest of 5 sisters: Mim, Stevie (Faithful), Fancy, and Autum. She is responsible for bringing extra money in the house, looking after her sisters, and helping out her mother. Her father injured himself falling off a roof and hasn’t been able to work, so money is tight. The story is
Show More
told from the very different POVs and unique voices of Beauty, Fancy, Autum, and a creepy man who has changes his daily walking route so that he can see some or all of the girls on their way to school. He debates with himself over their positive and negative qualities, trying to pick a favorite. When Autum gets lost in a strange neighborhood and arrives and his house, he takes the opportunity to kidnap her and keep her as his “girlfriend.” The story is creepy and suspenseful without being too explicit, and the girl’s narrative voices are authentic and charmingly awkward. The POV of Beauty and the man is 3rd person omnipotent, Fancy is first person, and Autum is second person. I was fascinated by these choices and their jarring though not unpleasant effect on me as the reader. Autum's second person brought me right into her experience with her kidnapper, and the effect is terrifying. Show Less
LibraryThing member elizardkwik
My favorite part about this book was the different voices of each of the girls. They had such varied personalities and, once you got to know them, you could easily identify the speaker. However, I'm not sure all the sisters even narrated a chapter, so it was a little unbalanced. There seemed to be
Show More
a lot going on in the story at the same time, so none of it was a main focus. And the man was just creepy... Overall, it was a fairly shallow book that didn't make me care about any of the characters. Show Less
LibraryThing member connlibrary
Someone is watching the Herbert sisters. The girls don’t notice because they are busy with their own problems. . . self-esteem, boys, sexual orientation, their parents fighting, school work, etc. Each chapter is told from a different point of view. We see the watching man’s thoughts become more
As usual, Mazer does an excellent job in getting you to turn the page. The short chapters make this a quick and exciting read. She writes the “sad character” so well. A good choice for any library collection geared towards junior high and high school students.
Show More
disturbing. All the while the girls don’t know what’s in store for them. As usual, Mazer does an excellent job in getting you to turn the page. The short chapters make this a quick and exciting read. She writes the “sad character” so well. A good choice for any library collection geared towards junior high and high school students.
Show Less
LibraryThing member edspicer
I would say that it was one of the best books I have ever read. I would say taht it was very interesting and frightening. The description of what the book was about interested me. It made you curious and want to know more. It's why I read the book. AHS/HH
LibraryThing member JuleeHuang
First, the book starts by introducing all the sisters (Autumn, Fancy, Beauty, Mim, and Stevie) and we see what happens in their everyday lives. Then it starts describing the man, a man that is watching them. The man thinks he is normal, and its alright to keep an eye on them, but soon he becomes
Show More
out of control and obsessed with them.(rising action) One of the conflicts is when the parents decide that Stevie should go to live with her aunt because the family is low on money. Stevie is furious with their decision and the whole family is gloomy and depressed. The climax happens when the man decide to lure Autumn into his house, lock her in, and pretend that she is his daughter. Autumn waits for him to leave. Then she smashes the window and jumps out, rolling down the roof and crash-landing into the ravine in pain, but alive.(falling action) Later, a kind samaritan finds her and drives her home. Months later, the man is found dead in a river.(resolution) Show Less
LibraryThing member lesliewright34
To be honest, I really wanted to quit this book about halfway through. But a friend of mine encouraged me to finish it and so I did and it did in fact get better, but that's about the nicest thing I can say about it. The book is from various viewpoints which I find intriguing in other books but in
Show More
this book not so much, as one of the viewpoints was from the youngest sister and every time I came upon a chapter from her I cringed. The way in which she spoke was very annoying and took away from the story. Additionally, the ending was anticlimactic and somewhat expected. This was just an okay book. It doesn't make me want to read anything else from this author. Show Less
LibraryThing member Salsabrarian
Life can be so normal and ordinary until it's not; a stranger can be invisible and ordinary until you find out he's not. The Herbert sisters go through their daily routines and family dramas unaware of the man who covertly observes them every morning.
LibraryThing member Sullywriter
So effectively creepy!
Pages
288