Publishers Weekly
- Publisher's Weekly
In a starred review, PW called this menacing tale of doomed lovers "a modern-day Shakespearean tragedy," with "evocative narrative and throat-tightening suspense"; graphic sex, moral ambiguity and a somber ending make it most suitable for mature YA readers. Ages 12-up. (July)
Children's Literature
- Kathleen Karr
Better known for his YA Victorian thrillers and the first two volumes of his fantasy trilogy, His Dark Materials, Pullman here brings his magic into the contemporary world. When seventeen-year-old Chris saves lovely, mysterious Jenny from the clutches of partying Oxford students he is immediately lost. Impossibly in love, Chris pursues Jenny through a world of treachery he's never conceived, a world that has no happy endings. Pullman has created a strong story of teenage passions and lost innocence. 1997 (orig.
Hazel Rochman
"Chris Marshall met the girl he was going to kill . . ." Like Pullman's Victorian thriller "Ruby in the Smoke" (1987), this novel has a gripping opening line, both casual and sinister. Chris, 17, is a nice, innocent kid in contemporary Oxford, England. The girl, Jenny, with whom he falls madly in love, has run away from her father's sexual abuse. Jenny likes Chris; they make tender, passionate love; but then accidental circumstances separate them, and as they search and search for each other, they get caught in a web of intrigue and corruption that keeps them apart and builds inexorably to betrayal and a murderous rendezvous. The abrupt switch in point of view from Chris to other characters is jarring at first, but gradually it becomes clear that that's part of the story: things aren't what they seem, people tell stories and lies; each character sees differently. This is especially poignant after Chris and Jenny have sex: for him it's a wild and lovely experience; on the next page we discover that for her it's been clumsy and a little disappointing. Pullman's attempt to give mythic depth to his thriller is heavy-handed (complete with a demonic villain who gives Chris an apple); and as the melodrama grows, the blatant coincidences seem as much the whim of the author as the accidents of ordinary life. What will hold readers is the sense of unease beneath cozy domesticity, the chances just missed. Everything could end happily, like a romantic comedy, if only . . .
School Library Journal
Gr 11 Up—"Chris Marshall met the girl he was going to kill on a warm night in early June." From the first line, there is no doubt how Philip Pullman's story (Knopf, 1993) will end. Chris is a 17-year-old English boy living in Oxford, England. He works for Barry Miller, who appears to be a decent employer and loving husband and father, but hides a past that will ensnare Chris in a web of deceit, betrayal, and murder. Chris falls hard for Jenny, a homeless teen running from her past. They are forced apart by circumstances and spend much of this short novel searching for each other. When Chris finally finds Jenny again, he mistakenly believes that she and Barry are together. Chris decides to help a mysterious man in a white Mercedes locate Barry and, too late, realizes Jenny is in danger. Narrator Colin Moody does a fine job of propelling the story forward and distinguishes each character with a unique voice. A frank, sexual scene bumps this tale into the mature teen bracket. Since the novel was published nearly two decades ago, today's teens may feel its date. For example, during a critical plot point, much hangs on locating a telephone. While the story is interesting, it never quite reaches the must-read level of many of Pullman's other titles. An additional purchase for libraries serving mature teens.—Tricia Melgaard, Centennial Middle School, Broken Arrow, OK
School Library Journal
Gr 11 Up—"Chris Marshall met the girl he was going to kill on a warm night in early June." From the first line, there is no doubt how Philip Pullman's story (Knopf, 1993) will end. Chris is a 17-year-old English boy living in Oxford, England. He works for Barry Miller, who appears to be a decent employer and loving husband and father, but hides a past that will ensnare Chris in a web of deceit, betrayal, and murder. Chris falls hard for Jenny, a homeless teen running from her past. They are forced apart by circumstances and spend much of this short novel searching for each other. When Chris finally finds Jenny again, he mistakenly believes that she and Barry are together. Chris decides to help a mysterious man in a white Mercedes locate Barry and, too late, realizes Jenny is in danger. Narrator Colin Moody does a fine job of propelling the story forward and distinguishes each character with a unique voice. A frank, sexual scene bumps this tale into the mature teen bracket. Since the novel was published nearly two decades ago, today's teens may feel its date. For example, during a critical plot point, much hangs on locating a telephone. While the story is interesting, it never quite reaches the must-read level of many of Pullman's other titles. An additional purchase for libraries serving mature teens.—Tricia Melgaard, Centennial Middle School, Broken Arrow, OK
