
Reach for this book when your teenager is struggling with the silent weight of a secret mistake or navigating the complicated pressure of group academic expectations. It is a haunting, multi-layered story about Simon, a high schooler who helps his friends hack their school's computer system to change grades. After a near-fatal car crash leaves him in a coma, the narrative shifts between his out-of-body experiences and his friends' growing panic as an investigation begins. The book explores the heavy price of dishonesty and the courage required to make things right. It is ideal for ages 13 and up, offering a safe space to discuss how small compromises in integrity can snowball into life-altering consequences.
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Sign in to write a reviewSupernatural 'plagues' like frogs and bugs affect the town.
Explores themes of wrongful death and the fragility of life while in a hospital.
The book deals with a lynching and a coma in a direct, though atmospheric, way. The historical segments depict injustice and death, while the modern segments deal with severe guilt and academic pressure. The resolution is realistic and morally satisfying, emphasizing accountability over a magical 'easy out.'
A thoughtful middle or high schooler who enjoys speculative fiction but is currently feeling the squeeze of 'perfectionism' or peer pressure. It is perfect for the student who feels they have to cheat to keep up or the kid who feels stuck in a lie.
Parents should be aware of the historical lynching subplot, which is central to the mystery. It is handled with gravity but is quite somber. Read cold, but be ready to discuss the ethics of group-think afterward. A parent might notice their child becoming unusually secretive about their grades or school social circle, or perhaps the parent hears their teen expressing that 'everyone else is doing it' regarding minor rule-breaking.
Younger readers (11-12) will focus on the 'frogs falling from the sky' and the ghost mystery. Older teens will resonate more deeply with the crushing weight of academic expectations and the ethical dilemma of snitching vs. loyalty.
It unique combines a modern high school 'tech' crime with a historical injustice, using magical realism to show how the past and present are linked by the search for truth.
Simon Gray is the 'good kid' who ends up at the center of a cheating scandal involving hacking into the school computer system. After crashing into a historical tree, Simon enters a coma where his consciousness overlaps with Jesse, a man wrongfully hanged in 1798. As the modern-day investigation closes in on his nervous friends, Simon must find a way to take responsibility from the brink of death.
This overview was generated by AI based on the book's content and reviews, and may not capture every nuance.