Circle of Revenge - Hardcover

Robbie is an idealistic and empathetic teenager. He has a "sort-of" girlfriend, a car, unsympathetic parents and no close friends. When he is fired from his job at the Burger Bowl, he answers an ad from the psychology department of a nearby university. It seems ideal: $15 per hour, after school, no hard work. He gets the job, but the professor in charge of the experiment, unbeknownst to Robbie, is looking for revenge: his son and wife were among the "disappeared" in the miitary-controlled South American country where he had been working. Robbie's politically active girlfriend tries to convince him that something is wrong; not until he almost kills his best friend, Carlos, the son of the deposed dictator, does Robbie realize what has been happening to him. By then it is too late. With elements culled from national news, this thin novel reads like a made-for-TV movie. The timely subject matter may appeal to some, but motive and characterization are sketchy, and the omniscient third-person narration never allows the reader to feel for any of the players. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Grade 7-10 Easy going, amiable Robbie Cavanaugh is thrilled to be selected for a psychological experiment conducted by UCLA professor Dr. Salazar. But as the experiment progresses, and Robbie becomes tired and disoriented, his girlfriend Samantha Matthews investigates Dr. Salazar, and thinks that he is brainwashing Robbie. The plot revolves around a connection between murders in the Salazar family in South America and Robbie's chemistry lab partner, Carlos Montano. French is a good storyteller. The plot is suspenseful and reader interest is heightened as the purpose of the experiment begins to unfold, although the book lacks a strong sense of setting and empathetic characters. Stephen Schwandt's A Risky Game (Holt, 1986) also involves psychological manipulation, while Talking in Whispers (Knopf, 1984) by James Watson entangles a teenager caught in the political throes of a South American country. Pam Spencer, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Fairfax County, Va.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.