Inexcusable

Lynch, C. (2015). Inexcusable. New York: Simon & Schuster BFYR.

Loved by his family and peers, Keir is viewed as an All American football star, until he hurts a player on the opposing team one night, giving him his new nickname, Killer. His reckless behaviors within the story are viewed as innocent and harmless. But when things begin to take a downward turn, Keir struggles with finding his place and commits the ultimate mistake when he date rapes a girl he thought he loved. Denying such an event, Keir is faced with realization he committed a crime against a friend when under the influence of alcohol and drugs and now must face what is coming for him.

This realistic novel is intended for adolescents 15 years old or older due to the content of denial, sexual violence, rape, alcohol, and drugs. The point of view of Keir is a defenseless rapist. As the story is told alternating events of Keir’s end of high school, the reader is taken aback when realizing what really happens and cannot help but feel uneasy for Keir and sympathy for the victim in the end.

This novel can be used to demonstrate how being under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol can change the world around you in a split second, how decisions are altered and the consequences of our actions.

Invisible

Hautman, P. (2006). Invisible. New York: Simon Pulse.

Something about Dougie is just not matching up. His friendship with Andy and their conversations about fire, makes the reader question what exactly is wrong with Dougie. Taunted at school, Dougie becomes isolated from his peers and obsesses about finishing the 22,400 matches in the basement. It isn’t until the end that the reader realizes that Dougie is talking to his deceased friend, Andy, who died in one of the fires he and Dougie set. When Dougie’a parents enroll him in a school where he will be monitored, Dougie lashes out by setting his last fire, the 22,400 matches in the basement.

The protagonist of the story tragically crumbles beneath his mental state and coming to terms with his involvement in the death of his best friend. Adolescents of age 12 and up can see what can happen when playing with fire and the consequences that come along with carelessness. This dark realistic fiction deals with death, denial, bullying, and coming to terms with ones consequences. This book provides teachers an opportunity to use as an example of what happens when individuals are careless with their behavior and actions.