Shattering Glass by Gail Giles

Posted by : Deborah Takahashi Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Plot Summary:
It's senior year and Rob, the most popular guy in school, decides that he wants to leave his legacy by transforming the school geek into Mr. Popular. Meet Simon Glass. Not only is he a brain, but he takes the term "geek: to whole new level, which makes him the ideal candidate for Rob's "Cinderella" project. With a makeover, lesson in the art of being "Cool," and an attitude change, Simon not only leave his reputation as the King of Geeks in the dust, but he actually manages to achieve the same rank as Rob, who has mixed feelings about this. Then, one day, Simon Glass does the unimaginable--he supersedes Rob as the coolest guy in school. However, Rob is unable to stop Simon just as Dr. Frankenstein was unable to put an end to his creation. In a desperate attempt to reclaim what is his, and to keep Simon from revealing how he hacked the school's computers to change his grades, Rob and his buddies, do something horrific to take back something that was never theirs to begin with.

Critical Evaluation:
When reader's read the first chapter, they are immediately thrown in a world entangled in violence and revenge. This story provides a grim look into the power of high school cliques and how desperate we can be to bring an end to our suffering by hurting those who hurt us. In this tale, the tables have turned on the popular guy who turned the nerd into someone that stripped him of his power and popularity. Giles' story is fast paced and incredibly well-written that readers cannot put it down. This books is a great title for the reluctant reader since it draws them in the moment they turn the first page. Although Simon Glass meets a horrible demise, readers will learn how popularity can turn anyone into monster.

Information about the Author:
Unlike most authors, Gail Giles didn't know she was going to become a writer until she wrote a funny story that helped her escape the wrath of the nun at catholic school. In her website, Gail Giles have lived in quite a few places that have inspired the various locations of her novels. The idea for writing this novel came about when Giles was substitute teaching an art class and overheard a bunch of cheerleaders teaching a nerdy guy how to dress and how they have to have a "seminar" to help him look better. When Giles overheard this conversation, she tucked it away and decided to use it, coupled with another story, told by a teen who was helping around her house.

In this story, the boy's father made a terrible decision where he had to drop out of school, lose all of his friends, and, eventually, ruined his life. By using different parts of the stories, and the influence of the Great Gatsby and Lord of the Flies, Giles crafted this tale of two guys with two very different agendas and the disastrous results of their decisions. Giles has written several other thrillers such as: Dead Girls Don't Write Letters, What Happened to Cass McBride, Playing in Traffic, and Right Behind You. Although most of her words revolve around some pretty intense situations, these novels drive home the moral of every story, which provides a cautionary tale for teens to make the right decision or suffer the consequences of their decisions.

Genre:
Teen Suspense, Teen Contemporary Fiction

Reading/Interest Level:
Grades 10 & up

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