The Body of Christopher Creed by Carol Plum-Ucci
Author Biography:
Carol Plum-Ucci received one of the nation's top literary honors for her first novel, THE BODY OF CHRISTOPHER CREED, a suspense story set in the historic woods of Southern New Jersey. The novel received one of four Michael J. Printz Honor Book Awards, sponsored by the American Library Association, recognizing the best literature published for young adults. The novel also was a finalist in the Edgar Allan Poe Awards and was named to the Reader's International Children's Choice Awards List.
Plum-Ucci spent her childhood growing up on the barrier island of Brigantine, New Jersey, where her father was a funeral director. She lived overtop of the funeral home. She attended the Brigantine Public Schools, Atlantic City Friends School, and Holy Spirit High School, graduating in 1975. She earned her bachelor's degree in Communication from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana in 1979. She attended Rutgers University and received her Master of Arts degree 2004. Her husband Rick owns the Ucci Piano Service. Together, they love gardening, going to the Margate Beach in the summers, watching Academy Award winning movies, and raising their daughter, Abbey. Information retrieved from Amazon.com.
Published by: Graphia
ISBN: 0152063862
Genre: Mystery
Reading Level: Ages 12 and Up
Reader’s Annotation:
Everybody has some of those people in their schools. The ones that are weirdos, the ones that don’t fit in, the ones you get frustrated by just looking at. Christopher Creed is one of those kids. He doesn't fit it in, doesn't seem to want to, and is a general hindrance to anyone near him. Then suddenly Christopher vanishes, and the rumor mill at school starts grinding away. Did he kill himself? Run away? Maybe even murdered? Everyone wonders just what happened to Christopher, and everyone feels responsible in one way or another.
Plot Summary:
Torey Adams has climbed up the school pecking order fairly well by being an athlete and being the child of a wealthy family. He doesn't have to worry about things like bullying, being an outcast, or lacking friends to hang out with – unlike Christopher Creed. Creed acts as weird as he can possibly be, has a very strange speech pattern, and possesses penchant for appearing everywhere people do not want him to be. Torey largely ignores Creed’s antics, but finally gets so irritated with him one day he beats him up.
That isn’t a new experience for Creed, however, who is frequently picked on by just about anybody at school. It’s made much worse by the fact that no matter how much punishment Creed seems to suffer, he still manages to smile through it and continue with his strange behavior. Then one day Creed mysteriously vanishes, and nobody seems to know what has happened to him. Some joke he probably killed himself for being such a weirdo and outcast, others believe the stress drove him to run away, while others believe he was murdered by another student that was pushed too far.
While many of the students feel responsible for Creed’s disappearance in some way, they are quick to deflect any blame lodged at them. Bo, a delinquent who lives on the poor side of town, quickly becomes the target of nasty rumors. Considering he already has a record, seriously injured Creed in the past, and is poor leads many to believe he probably did something to Creed.
Torey can’t shake the feeling he had something to do with Creed’s sudden departure, and begins investigating the situation like a man possessed. As he looks into Creed’s history, he uncovers a wealth of information he never knew existed. As it turns out, Bo is dating his childhood friend Ali who is fervently defending him against the rumors. Despite Bo’s reputation, he takes good care of Ali, protects her when necessary, and even takes care of his brothers when his mother is frequently absent.
And then Torey uncovers something big – there’s a high chance that Creed’s domineering mother may have something to do with it. As it turns out, Creed had no reprieve in his life. At school, he was an outcast, and at home every moment of his day was controlled by his mother. As Torey observes the Creed household, he notices the mother desperately searching the house for something. Torey believes it could be critical evidence to Creed’s disappearance, and formulates a plan with Bo and Ali to break in and find it before she does. Yet Torrey knows little about breaking into houses, and Bo has never successfully broken into a house either making their plan an incredibly dangerous one that could ultimately lead to the three being placed in the cross hairs of school rumor – and law enforcement- as well.
Critical Evaluation:
Plum-Ucci has created a tale that, while a bit slow to start, demonstrates what frequent abuse at home and school can do to a teen who feels he has no way out. While some authors like Nancy Garden develop stories about how it can drive teens over the edge and into violence, Plum-Ucci explores how simply disappearing can make nearly everyone – from the students who hurt him to the parents and teachers that could have done more – feel responsible. She also explores how many people will attempt to avoid blame and shift it to anybody else. This discussion is wrapped up in a mystery that, while interesting, oftentimes doesn’t give the reader enough information to draw his or her own conclusions before the narrator Torey does.
Regardless, watching the characters interact with each other as they try to avoid responsibility for their actions, seeing how Torey’s view of the world is gradually destroyed as his viewpoint on people such as his friends and Bo are challenged and defeated, and the revelations about Creed and what led to his disappearance make for an engaging an entertaining read.
Curriculum Ties:
Challenge Issues:
None
Defensive Maneuvers:
n/a
Book Talk Ideas:
You've heard rumors around school, right? Some people probably spread them just to feel better or make fun of people, but what if people actually do it because they're afraid they'll be blamed for something serious? Maybe something as serious as murder?
Why This Book?
The Body of Christopher Creed is an excellent book not only for the mystery surrounding Creed’s disappearance, but also because of the commentary about how many people will try to shirk responsibility for their actions and transfer it to someone else. It provides important talking points about the effects of bullying, and how readers can either be part of the problem or perhaps part of the solution.
Carol Plum-Ucci received one of the nation's top literary honors for her first novel, THE BODY OF CHRISTOPHER CREED, a suspense story set in the historic woods of Southern New Jersey. The novel received one of four Michael J. Printz Honor Book Awards, sponsored by the American Library Association, recognizing the best literature published for young adults. The novel also was a finalist in the Edgar Allan Poe Awards and was named to the Reader's International Children's Choice Awards List.
Plum-Ucci spent her childhood growing up on the barrier island of Brigantine, New Jersey, where her father was a funeral director. She lived overtop of the funeral home. She attended the Brigantine Public Schools, Atlantic City Friends School, and Holy Spirit High School, graduating in 1975. She earned her bachelor's degree in Communication from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana in 1979. She attended Rutgers University and received her Master of Arts degree 2004. Her husband Rick owns the Ucci Piano Service. Together, they love gardening, going to the Margate Beach in the summers, watching Academy Award winning movies, and raising their daughter, Abbey. Information retrieved from Amazon.com.
Published by: Graphia
ISBN: 0152063862
Genre: Mystery
Reading Level: Ages 12 and Up
Reader’s Annotation:
Everybody has some of those people in their schools. The ones that are weirdos, the ones that don’t fit in, the ones you get frustrated by just looking at. Christopher Creed is one of those kids. He doesn't fit it in, doesn't seem to want to, and is a general hindrance to anyone near him. Then suddenly Christopher vanishes, and the rumor mill at school starts grinding away. Did he kill himself? Run away? Maybe even murdered? Everyone wonders just what happened to Christopher, and everyone feels responsible in one way or another.
Plot Summary:
Torey Adams has climbed up the school pecking order fairly well by being an athlete and being the child of a wealthy family. He doesn't have to worry about things like bullying, being an outcast, or lacking friends to hang out with – unlike Christopher Creed. Creed acts as weird as he can possibly be, has a very strange speech pattern, and possesses penchant for appearing everywhere people do not want him to be. Torey largely ignores Creed’s antics, but finally gets so irritated with him one day he beats him up.
That isn’t a new experience for Creed, however, who is frequently picked on by just about anybody at school. It’s made much worse by the fact that no matter how much punishment Creed seems to suffer, he still manages to smile through it and continue with his strange behavior. Then one day Creed mysteriously vanishes, and nobody seems to know what has happened to him. Some joke he probably killed himself for being such a weirdo and outcast, others believe the stress drove him to run away, while others believe he was murdered by another student that was pushed too far.
While many of the students feel responsible for Creed’s disappearance in some way, they are quick to deflect any blame lodged at them. Bo, a delinquent who lives on the poor side of town, quickly becomes the target of nasty rumors. Considering he already has a record, seriously injured Creed in the past, and is poor leads many to believe he probably did something to Creed.
Torey can’t shake the feeling he had something to do with Creed’s sudden departure, and begins investigating the situation like a man possessed. As he looks into Creed’s history, he uncovers a wealth of information he never knew existed. As it turns out, Bo is dating his childhood friend Ali who is fervently defending him against the rumors. Despite Bo’s reputation, he takes good care of Ali, protects her when necessary, and even takes care of his brothers when his mother is frequently absent.
And then Torey uncovers something big – there’s a high chance that Creed’s domineering mother may have something to do with it. As it turns out, Creed had no reprieve in his life. At school, he was an outcast, and at home every moment of his day was controlled by his mother. As Torey observes the Creed household, he notices the mother desperately searching the house for something. Torey believes it could be critical evidence to Creed’s disappearance, and formulates a plan with Bo and Ali to break in and find it before she does. Yet Torrey knows little about breaking into houses, and Bo has never successfully broken into a house either making their plan an incredibly dangerous one that could ultimately lead to the three being placed in the cross hairs of school rumor – and law enforcement- as well.
Critical Evaluation:
Plum-Ucci has created a tale that, while a bit slow to start, demonstrates what frequent abuse at home and school can do to a teen who feels he has no way out. While some authors like Nancy Garden develop stories about how it can drive teens over the edge and into violence, Plum-Ucci explores how simply disappearing can make nearly everyone – from the students who hurt him to the parents and teachers that could have done more – feel responsible. She also explores how many people will attempt to avoid blame and shift it to anybody else. This discussion is wrapped up in a mystery that, while interesting, oftentimes doesn’t give the reader enough information to draw his or her own conclusions before the narrator Torey does.
Regardless, watching the characters interact with each other as they try to avoid responsibility for their actions, seeing how Torey’s view of the world is gradually destroyed as his viewpoint on people such as his friends and Bo are challenged and defeated, and the revelations about Creed and what led to his disappearance make for an engaging an entertaining read.
Curriculum Ties:
- Bullying
- Responsibility
- Trustworthiness of adults
- Support of children by parents
Challenge Issues:
None
Defensive Maneuvers:
n/a
Book Talk Ideas:
You've heard rumors around school, right? Some people probably spread them just to feel better or make fun of people, but what if people actually do it because they're afraid they'll be blamed for something serious? Maybe something as serious as murder?
Why This Book?
The Body of Christopher Creed is an excellent book not only for the mystery surrounding Creed’s disappearance, but also because of the commentary about how many people will try to shirk responsibility for their actions and transfer it to someone else. It provides important talking points about the effects of bullying, and how readers can either be part of the problem or perhaps part of the solution.