Shadow People
Joyce McDonald
Delacorte / 2000
Gabriel, Lydia, Alex, and Hollis are four totally different teenagers who were thrown together by accident. Or maybe they were destined to meet, for they all share something that unites them and drives them to act out in violence—anger. Gem is a girl whose path crosses theirs when she falls in love with Gabriel. Will her solid sense of self save Gabriel—or will he destroy her?
These five voices combine to tell the chilling tale of what happens in a small town in New Jersey when teenage fury is unleashed. And these five voices also tell the painful truths about the roots of that violence. As gripping as today's headlines, this powerful novel probes troubling territory and seeks to make sense of what seems, on the surface, senseless.
When his family moves to a secluded area in western New Jersey after his brother is murdered, Gabriel finds himself involved with three other teenagers, each with his or her own problems, in a series of increasingly violent acts.