The Terroist

Cooney, Caroline B. (1997). The Terroist, NewYork: Scholastic, Inc.

Summary: About a family who loves a son, and a brother named Billy Williams. They just moved from Boston to London, England. Billy was a wiley, adventurous kid. Until one day, on the way to school while racing his friends up the stairs from the subway he is handed a box. He was led to believe it was his friend’s box that he had dropped. He quickly had a “sickening moment of knowledge.” Then the package exploded. The book goes through the life of the Williams family and the stress of dealing with their loss, especially Laura, his sister. She decides to find his killer and begins interrogating all her friends at school. Friends start to loose patience. Laura grows closer to a student named Jehrah who in the past hated Americans and did not really like Laura into a plan to honor her brother. Things start to go bad and her true friends save the day.

Rationale for Selection: I heard she was a good author and had some exciting novels. She used mystery, suspense and adventure to draw her readers in and capture their excitement.

Reader Response: It was a little too far fetched for me; but it was very adventurous and held my attention. I could not put the book down. Throughout the book, I wanted to know “who did it”.

Genre and Themes: Mystery/Adventure/Suspense, Terrorism

Teaching Thinking notes:
• This would be a great discussion starter on current events, including the history of how terrorism started.
• Author study: if students enjoyed this book, I would recommend her other mystery books.