Acceleration

Publishers Weekly

A teen discovers a diary in which the writer plots a murder, so he enlists his friends to help him catch the would-be murderer. In a starred review, PW said this "taut novel reads like a fast-paced nail-biter of a movie." Ages 12-up. (June) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

KLIATT

The dramatic cover of a young man's eyes staring ahead will grab potential readers for this thriller, set in Toronto. It is written by the author of Hate You, which was an ALA Best Book for YAs. The narrator is haunted by the events of a previous summer when he failed to rescue a drowning girl; this summer he has a boring job in the bowels of the Toronto subway system working in the lost and found department. He can keep busy sorting through the items and reading the left-behind books-and it is a journal he finds that starts this action. The journal records the horrors of a sadistic person who tortures animals and stalks women. The narrator, Duncan, decides to try to discover the identity of this monster to stop him, and the chase begins. The action is exciting and believable. Duncan's friends are also believable: from the quote on the back of the book, "Me and you going after this guy," Vinny says, "it's like the Hardy Boys meet Hannibal Lecter." High school students won't find this too tame. KLIATT Codes: JS-Recommended for junior and senior high school students. 2003, Random House, Wendy Lamb Books, 210p., Ages 12 to 18.
— Claire Rosser

School Library Journal

Gr 8 Up-Seventeen-year-old Duncan is haunted by the fact that he was unable to save a drowning girl a few yards away one fateful afternoon the previous September. This summer he has a job working underground at the Toronto subway lost and found where he uncovers, amid the piles of forgotten junk, an opportunity to exorcise his own guilty demons. When business is slow, Duncan spends his time rummaging through dusty shelves and boxes of unclaimed items. During one of these sessions, he uncovers a strange, leather-bound book that turns out to be the diary of a would-be serial killer. Unable to tear himself from the gory descriptions of tortured animals and arson, he discovers that the writer has started to stalk women on the subway. When the police seem disinterested, the teen takes matters into his own hands, and with the aid of his two best friends, tries to track and trap the murderer before he can strike. This chilling page-turner is all thrills, and the author cleverly manipulates readers' sense of disbelief by eliminating the possibility of police help or parental understanding. What results is one teen's self-conscious yet fast-paced journey into the mind of a cold-blooded killer, and the resulting manhunt will keep readers on the edge of their seats.-Hillias J. Martin, New York Public Library Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Seventeen-year-old Duncan hates his summer job in the lost-and-found department of the Toronto Transit Commission. In his office below the subway tunnels, Duncan sorts through and retrieves items lost on buses and trains: a golf club, sunglasses, giant thong underwear, umbrellas, and cell phones. When he looks through a lost diary and finds a would-be murderer's plans for his first victim, he decides to hunt him down. Having failed recently in an attempt to save a drowning girl, he sees this as a chance to redeem himself and stop his nightmares. Enlisting his wise-guy friends, Vinny and Wayne, he stalks the stalker and finds himself in over his head. The creepy, morgue-like setting and the friendship among the teenaged boys are well-drawn, with a fair amount of humor to balance the chills. Though readers may wonder why Duncan fails to consider certain obvious points along the way, this is a well-written, read-it-in-one-gulp thriller. (Fiction. 12+)