Rewind | ||||||||
William Sleator | ||||||||
Penguin/Dutton Children's Books, 128 pages | ||||||||
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A review by Victoria Strauss
The solution seems obvious to Peter: he'll put sugar in the car's
gas tank so it won't start. But everything else happens as it did
before, and Peter finds himself running out into the road again -- where he's hit by a different car.
Miraculously, he's given another chance. This time, he understands
that he has to go further back into his life, and find a way to
prevent the terrible quarrel with his parents that drove him out
into the street. The quarrel involved Peter's talent for art,
which his parents think is a waste of time. But how can Peter
change his parents' minds, and make them see how important art is
to him? How can he change himself, so that they'll be more
accepting of him, without sacrificing the interests that mean most
to him? And how can he prevent the class bully, Kurt Meyer, from
sabotaging all his efforts?
Fans of Sleator's creepy and complicated science fiction stories
may be surprised by this relatively straightforward tale, in which
there aren't any particularly strange goings-on -- other than the
fact that the narrator is dead, of course. Even this supernatural
element is only a frame for Peter's real-world attempt to come to a
better understanding of himself and those around him. But the plot
is as swift and the characters as engaging as in any Sleator novel,
and the question of how Peter will resolve his dilemma generates
some real suspense. Sleator doesn't flinch from making his adult
characters authentically unpleasant: Peter's parents are pretty
awful, and you feel a lot of sympathy for poor Peter as he
struggles to win their approval.
A fun book for younger readers, with an appealing message about
maturity, and the importance of remaining true to your own best
self.
Victoria Strauss is a novelist, and a lifelong reader of fantasy and science fiction. Her most recent fantasy novel, The Arm of the Stone, is currently available from Avon Eos. For an excerpt, visit her website. |
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