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Overview
In this exciting coming of age story, the lives of two boys, separated by several hundred miles, begin to converge and they learn valuable lessons about life and the connections carried from birth.Far inland, Tanner is concerned and frightened by a repeated dream of the sea, increasingly severe headaches and the rage that is beginning to control him. When a hockey trip to the coast presents itself, Tanner believes he will have a chance to solve the mystery of the dream and hopefully find some measure of peace.
Meanwhile, Alex is stuck in a small coastal community, with a father he can barely stand and a burning desire to get out, even if that means leaving behind the one person he truly cares for. When he does make it to the big city Alex finds that his problems have only just begun. Faced with a difficult decision, he makes the wrong choice and the situation progresses rapidly from bad to worse.
Fourteen-year-old Canadians, Tanner and Alex, discover they have a mysterious connection when drug dealers kidnap Tanner while he is on a hockey trip, mistaking him for Alex who met them while running away from an abusive father.
Editorials
Linda Salisbury
Adults will appreciate that the [Hrdlitschka] does not glamorize the life of a runaway...the engaging plot will make teenage readers look forward to staying connected to this Canadian author's imagination.— ForeWord Magazine
Children's Literature -
In this coming-of-age tale, twins learn of the mysterious ties that bind them from birth. A boy named Tanner is worried and scared about a recurring dream of the sea. Because of this, he has horrible headaches. His anger is starting to overtake him. Tanner lives inland, and when he takes a hockey trip up to the coast, he thinks that maybe then he will be able to interpret the dream and find peace. Another boy, Alex, is stuck living on the coast with his father whom he doesn't like very much. He wants to leave and get away, but a lot of problems lie ahead. Tanner and Alex come to realize that a person is never really alone, even though sometimes the person may not be aware of it or see it that way.VOYA -
Although Tanner and Alex do not know each other, the teenagers share the same sense of isolation. Both feel disconnected-from family, society, and even reality. The boys are unhappy at home; Alex hates and fears his abusive father, and Tanner does not seem to belong at school or in his own family. These two lives finally intersect when the thugs hunting for runaway Alex mistakenly abduct Tanner. Because Tanner and Alex are really identical twins, separated at birth, they have the ability to communicate mentally. Throughout their lives, their minds have been trying to reestablish their lost psychic connection. After receiving a mental call for help, Alex is able to lead police to his injured twin. At the conclusion of the novel, the boys-although physically separated once more-are honing their telepathic and telekinesis skills and connecting, at last. Sadly, for a book about the paranormal, Disconnected is just not very exciting. Even the additional plot threads about bullies, street kids, drug lords, crime, boy-girl relationships, and kidnapping cannot rescue this novel from the doldrums. None of the characters are especially memorable, even Alex and Tanner. Potential browsers are unlikely to be attracted to the peculiar and poorly drawn cover art. Rather than pushing this Canadian import, help your readers connect with William Sleator or Madeleine L'Engle. VOYA Codes: 2Q 2P M J (Better editing or work by the author might have warranted a 3Q, For the YA reader with a special interest in the subject, Middle School-defined as grades 6 to 8 and Junior High-defined as grades 7 to 9).School Library Journal
Gr 7-9For years, Tanner has had a recurring dream of swimming in the ocean, although he has never seen the ocean and cannot swim. The fall that he is 14, he begins having the dream more regularly, but it is becoming nightmarish. At the same time, Alex, who lives in a small coastal town, is biding his time until he can save enough money to run away from his abusive, alcoholic father. In December, Tanner goes to Vancouver with his hockey team; there, he hopes to see the ocean and put to rest his obsession with it. Meanwhile, Alex runs away to Vancouver but finds that life there is not easy. When Alexs girlfriend meets Tanner at the hockey game, it is only a matter of time until the two boys meet and find out that they are twins who were separated at birth. The book gets off to a slow start as the author sets the stage for the action, but then the pace picks up. Telepathy and telekinesis are used to explore the sense of disconnectedness that adolescents feel and the wish for a deeper connection with someone at any level. The combination of eerie dreams, a little romance, and ice hockey results in a good mix with reader appeal.Lynn W. Zimmerman, Southeast Middle School, Greensboro, NC Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.Book Details
Published
February 28, 1999
Publisher
Bt Bound
Pages
160
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9780613292269