Zero at the Bone

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

After spending seven chapters articulating the conflicts and relationships of high-school senior Cray Buchanan, Cadman (Taking It; Breaking the Fall) zaps readers with a sudden crisis: the inexplicable disappearance of Cray's older sister, Anita. Tension mounts rapidly as the protagonist, along with his parents and the police, traces frustratingly vague clues taken from fragments of conversations and excerpts from Anita's diary. As this riveting novel progresses, the tragedy unravels the fabric of family life. The personalities of characters undergo subtle changes: Mrs. Buchanan, an archeologist, puts on a stoic front, Cray's father, a factory owner, becomes somewhat fanatic in his behavior and Cray begins to be more open and honest about his feelings. Although the mystery remains unsolved, as in Susan Beth Pfeffer's The Year Without Michael, the final scene, set at the family's lakeside cabin, affords a type of closure. Fans of intense psychological dramas can expect to be emotionally drained by the time they reach the last chapter. Ages 12-up. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

When a teenage girl disappears, her family goes into crisis. "Fans of intense psychological dramas can expect to be emotionally drained by the time they reach the last chapter," said PW in a starred review. Ages 12-up. (Aug.)r

VOYA - Carla A. Tripp

Cadnum's Zero at the Bone represents a taut, psychological thriller that will appeal to the more sophisticated YA reader. Such a reader obviously does not require a sugar-coated treatment of a terrifying life experience. Instead, he/she, along with the author's cast of characters, will face "head-on" the disappearance of a young woman/daughter/sibling. Cray Buchanan, the perceptive narrator of this novel, proves to be a quick-witted young man who handles himself well during a few life crises. Although Cray looks upon himself as just an average teenager early in this book, it quickly becomes abundantly clear to the reader that Cray is far beyond average. In the book's opening pages, Cray suspects "fire" in his father's furniture mill, yet he maturely decides to use the intercom to summon his father to the main office in a calm, orderly fashion, rather than to upset the entire work population by prematurely pushing the fire alarm or dialing 911. As the plot progresses, and he must face and ultimately accept his sister's disappearance, he uses that quiet sense of maturity to deal with his own gamut of emotions, as well as to deal with his parents and their painful sense of loss. Luckily, Cray possesses an uncanny sense about people. In other words, he understands the why behind each important person in his life-why his father constantly talks, moves and helps; why his mother loves to hear conversation around her but does not easily take part in it; why his sister Anita may have needed to run off. Above all, Cray cares about everyone and everything deeply, but the depth of his caring will never jam him up, making it impossible for him to act or to continue. So, even though he cares and thus feels pain and emptiness (i.e., zero at the bone) left by his sister's disappearance, he will survive. Being a survivor, he will use each life experience, good or bad, as a valuable tool that allows him to learn more about life and the highly complicated human psyche. VOYA Codes: 4Q 4P J S (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses, Broad general YA appeal, Junior High-defined as grades 7 to 9 and Senior High-defined as grades 10 to 12).

Children's Literature - Marilyn Courtot

Cadnum offers a gripping account of a family's ordeal when their eighteen-year-old daughter, Anita, fails to come home from work one night. The story is told by her younger brother, Cray. As the days stretch on, readers experience Cray and his parents' emotions as they cope with Anita's disappearance.

School Library Journal

Gr 7-10Cray Buchanan, high school senior, narrates this taut, waking nightmare of contemporary American life. When his 18-year-old sister Anita fails to come home from work one night, all normal, daily events and problems abruptly lose importance. Cray's fleeting hopes of becoming the varsity quarterback and a fire at his father's furniture factory fade into obscurity. Days stretch out in a litany of tension and futilitypolice interviews, searching dumpsters and alleys, and MISSING posters. Poignant scenes unfold as Cray invades the sanctity of his sister's room and diary to uncover clues to her disappearance. Cadnum's character portrayals resonate. Torn between grief and anger, the family tries to make sense out of the senseless. The mother, a practical scientist, retreats into her study and her research, with periodic raids on the refrigerator, all the while preparing for the worst. The father clings to the optimistic high ground, leaving no person or organization untapped, and passes his days in a frenzy of activity, but no resolution is in sight at novel's end. Cray delves deep into his sister's secret self, a direct contrast to his earlier inattention. His regret over not knowing her better allows him to reevaluate his friends and family. Exquisite descriptions cruelly juxtapose the unbearable open ending, leaving each reader with "zero at the bone."Alice Casey Smith, Sayreville War Memorial High School, NJ

Kirkus Reviews

A teenage daughter's disappearance hits a North Oakland family hard in this bitter story from the author of Taking It (1995).

Cray Buchanan belongs to a family of industrious, upscale, strong-minded winners. On the same day, he prevents a disaster at his father's factory and is invited to play quarterback on his high school football team. His mother is a respected paleontologist and his father is a successful businessman and active participant in a variety of causes. All their assets, all their competence, turn to ashes when Clay's sister, Anita, doesn't come home one day. With characteristic energy, the Buchanans spring into action, making phone calls, enlisting aid, distributing flyers, all to no avail, until their hopes begin to drain. Cray describes the ensuing changes in himself and his parents in a slightly detached tone that makes the plot's grimmer moments—rummaging through dumpsters, rushing to the morgue when police find a partially decomposed body (not Anita's, as it turns out)—even more heartrending. Was she kidnapped, or did she leave on her own? Cadnum doesn't tell, though a few cryptic lines in Anita's diary hint at a secret in her life. In the end, there is no end: no explanations, no leads, no Anita. As is true of the family in Susan Beth Pfeffer's The Year Without Michael (1987)—just as moving but without Cadnum's grit—Cray and his parents can only go on, nursing wounds that are already beginning to scar. A painful subject, mercilessly explored.