Reality Check

Reality Check

YA fiction
"Cody never got to the football article, because of something on
the front page; something that got his heart beating fast, something,
in fact, that woke him up and made him feel alive, as though he'd been
in hibernation. Alive, but not in a good way: what Cody saw on the
front page of the Guardian was a photograph of Clea. Over it, a big
black headline read: 'Local Girl Missing.'"
Cody, protagonist of Peter Abraham's Reality Check, and his
girlfriend, Clea, seem like a really odd couple. He's an indifferent
student. The only reason he tries to avoid Fs is they would make him
ineligible for football. She's an achiever who gets upset when she
receives a B in calculus. He and his dad reside in a small apartment
over a bar. Her family owns a home posh enough to have a name. These
differences mean a lot to her father. When he catches Cody and Clea
in Clea's bedroom under incriminating circumstances he sends Clea to
Hong Kong for the summer and expensive boarding school in the fall.
Cody's junior year does not get off to an auspicious start. A
football injury gives him a torn ACL. His injury not only requires
surgery and recuperation, but takes him out of the game for the whole
rest of the season. Which means forget about college since juniors are
the players scouts look at. School work becomes more and more of a
struggle. Eventually Cody drops out and takes on a full time job.
Cody has broken up with Clea, sure that their relationship would
stand in the way of her opportunities. But he's never stopped loving
her. So when he learns of her disappearance he jumps in his car and
drives across the country to help in search and (hopefully) rescue.
In a letter Clea had confided how hard it was to know who to
trust in her new life. Cody soon learns the truth of this. Behind
the quaint houses and dorms of a New Hampshire prep school town
there's some pretty nasty business going on. Still missing Clea is
not the only one who's in danger.
On a personal note, Dean Robert Q. Dana's annual Christmas party was,
as always, the cat's pajamas. Good food, music, conversation. And
overseeing the whole thing like a size large suit and tie clad
Christmas elf, Robert Q. Dana himself. Who could ask for a better
kick off for the last few days before Christmas?
A great big shout out goes out to Robert Q. Dana, the host with the
most.
jules hathaway




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