The Body of Christopher Creed

The Body of Christopher Creed by Carol Plum-Ucci
Original ISBN 978-0-15-206386-3
Harcourt, Inc, 2000
259 pages.

Plot Summary: Christopher Creed, the class freak, has disappeared. Was he murdered? Did he commit suicide? As speculation of his fate circulates school, popular guy Torey Adams begins to question his possible role in Creed’s disappearance and begins to search for Creed. In the process he loses his friends, and very possibly his mind. But with the help of his old friend Ali, Torey discovers something much more important about himself and his interaction with others.

Critical Evaluation: This first person narrative told from the perspective of a 16-year-old boy has mysterious twists and turns that will keep the reader hooked to the very end; everyone wants to find out what happened to Christopher Creed. The book also describes the intolerance some teens have for others that are different, and how actions of hatred can affect them.  Plum-Ucci does an excellent job describing the uncertainty Torey feels about his hazing of Creed and what that could have led Creed to do to himself.

Reader’s Annotation: When Christopher Creed disappears, popular guy Torey Adams does what he can to find out what happened – even if people think he had something to do with it.

Author Information: Plum-Ucci, an American writer, was born in 1957. She lived atop her family’s funeral home the peculiarities of which she states began for passion for her style of writing. Ironically, Plum-Ucci spent many years as a staff writer for the (very un-scary) Miss America Organization. She was the third-generation to work for the organization and she left mere days before she received royalties from her first book, The Body of Christopher Creed. This book gained national attention as it was named the Michael L. Printz Award Honor and one of YALSA’s Best Books for Young Adults Honor in 2001. It also garnered an Edgar Award nomination for Best Young Adult Mystery.

Plum-Ucci has written six other young adult novels the latest of which is Following Christopher Creed (a sequel to The Body of Christopher Creed) published September 2011.

Her website can be found at http://carolplumucci.com/

Genre: Mystery

Curriculum Ties: This novel can be used in a unit on bullying

Booktalking Ideas: I would ask students to think of a time when they witnessed bullying, were bullied, or was a bully. What are some of the feelings associated with bullying?

Reading Level / Interest Age: Grades 8-12

Lexile: 720

Challenge Issues: The book was challenged in 2010 by Appleton, Wisconsin parents who wanted the book removed as part of the ninth-grade curriculum due to references to sex and suicide. The challenge was rejected by the school board.

Reason for Item’s Inclusion: It is often mentioned as a Young Adult “must read” and one of my favorite high school English teachers told me I HAD to read it.

References:

Nicolai, M. (2012, April 23). Appleton school board rejects changes to reading curriculum. Retrieved from http://ndlaonline.org/ifblog/?tag=sexual-content