Book Review: Black Rabbit Summer
What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that this book involves a murder of a
teen by a teen, suicide, hallucinogenic drug use, and drunken
teen sex. After all that, other iffy behavior seems rather
tame: teens lie to their parents and police, smoke cigarettes
and pot, and drink hard alcohol recreationally. Another
disturbing element is the main character's apathy toward his
own life and others'. When Pete learns his friend killed a
girl, he notes, "I just didn't care. I know that probably
sounds pretty callous, but the simple truth is -- I didn't
like [her]."
Families can talk about the dangers of psychedelic drugs and how they can make people paranoid and violent. At one point, Pete turns down sex with a girl because she is too drunk. Pete later wonders if he's "an idiot" -- what do teens think? Does this book feel edgy and interesting with all the sex and drug content, or does it take away from the mystery? What mysteries have you read that give you the chills without laying on the adult content?
Common Sense Media Review
It's hard for readers to invest in this murder mystery since
Pete, the depressed first-person narrator, doesn't. Pete is
"happy enough doing nothing" and plans to study law in college
because he can't think of other options. Even after his friends
kill a girl and beat him up, he's pretty blasé about
it.
Brooks' prose is surprisingly trite and badly in need of editing. Many passages in this nearly 500-page book are annoyingly repetitive -- to say nothing of the excessive use of one-sentence paragraphs (It was hot. [Break] I was sweating. [Break] My throat hurt.) Character motivation is vague at best. The whole talking rabbit thing seems tossed in for a little atmosphere. The plot hinges on a fake kidnapping attempt, but the only explanations as to why the celebrity bothers with all this trouble are also pretty vague. Raymond's situation is unresolved at the ending, which suggests either a sequel or laziness. "He's just gone." But nobody really cares.
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