What happened to Cass McBride? Well, she has been buried alive by Kyle Kirby, who blames her for his brother David's suicide. After asking Cass out, David finds a note she leaves for a friend in which she laughs about an invitation from someone so low on the food chain. Then David hangs himself. Told in alternating voices, including that of a police officer, this intense story has some horrifying moments; readers will feel as terrorized as Cass as she struggles to survive, both physically and mentally. At the same time, there are plenty of psychological thrills as Cass tries to win her release by outwitting Kyle. In the teens' dialogues, it becomes clear that both have parents who have withheld love, and the brothers, especially David, have suffered extreme verbal abuse. The depiction of Kyle's mother goes over the top, but overall this packs a wallop. Readers won't forget David's suicide note, pinned to his skin: Words are teeth.And they eat me alive. Feed on my corpse instead.

After his brother commits suicide, Kyle Kirby kidnaps and buries alive Cass, the girl he holds responsible. Chapters alternate between the first-person voices of Kyle and Cass and the third-person perspective of police detective Ben (each with a unique typeface). Kyle's wrath, Cass's terror, and Ben's urgency are palpable, as is the horrifying claustrophobia, in this unnerving thriller.

In this harrowing, brutal mystery, college student Kyle Kirby believes a snarky rejection letter written by popular Cass McBride may have driven his younger, love-thirsty nerd of a brother to hang himself. To avenge his death, Kyle drugs Cass, kidnaps her and buries her in a wooden box underneath the ground. He inserts a plastic tube from the surface into the box for oxygen, and maniacally waits for her to talk. All of this happens within the first 20 pages and what unfolds next are the thoughts, fears and memories running through the minds of Kyle and Cass as the terrible evening unfolds. If the plot alone isn't disturbing enough to yank readers up by their bootstraps and catapult them headfirst into the horrors that are about to befall the two, Giles's jagged, terse, just-the-facts narrative only amplifies their claustrophobically dire situation. There is no light shed on the human condition, no touching moments of patient understanding. There are hardly any characters for teens to look up to, and, in true Giles form, nothing ties up neatly. It's just plain chilling, and that's what makes it brilliant. A damn scary read. (Fiction. YA)

Gr 9 Up-Cass is that girl in high school who does whatever it takes to be popular-which means stomping all over everyone else. David is that awkward boy who painfully lurks on the outside of all of the social groups. When he commits suicide, his older brother is out for revenge against the girl whom he believes is responsible for David's death. Giles's characters are frighteningly believable. The story is part mystery, part psychological drama that involves dysfunctional families and abuse, and part crime investigation. It is told by Cass, her captor, and the police investigating her disappearance. Slowly, through these narrations, readers see what caused David's suicide and Kyle's anger and are given insight as to why Cass behaves as she does. This book will disturb readers, frighten them, and make them feel as though they are trapped like the characters. It is a thrilling, one-sitting read that they won't be able to put down.-Sherry Quinones, Frederick County Public Libraries, MD Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

Kyle's dorky younger brother, David, a high school junior, has hanged himself. Grieving, Kyle pins the blame on David's classmate, Cass. She is Ms. Popularity, barely aware of David's existence, and Kyle chooses to believe that she sent David over the edge when she rebuffed him for a date. Bent on vengeance, Kyle kidnaps Cass, buries her in a box, and rigs up a speaking tube so that he can torture her with words while she dies. But thanks to a driven father who has taught Cass to be a "closer," words are Cass's weapon also. While the police race the clock to find her, Cass lures Kyle into a dialogue that causes them both to see themselves, their families, and David's death from fresh perspectives. But will Kyle's new insights influence him enough to spare Cass? The story unfolds in alternating mini chapters from three points of view: Kyle's, Cass's, and the lead detective's. The structure makes for a choppy beginning, but the grisly subject matter compels, and the need to know Cass's destiny-life or death-will keep readers turning pages. Over and above plot, however, and intertwined with Cass's fate, are complex issues of responsibility and scapegoating that even the most black-and-white thinkers will ponder long after they close the book. Did just one factor cause David's death? Were there others? If so, how should they be weighted and how, if appropriate, should punishment be meted out? To whom? By whom? Often brutal, this outstanding psychological thriller is recommended for older teens.-Mary E. Heslin.