Book Reviews

Book Blurb

One October morning, high school junior Bryan Dennison wakes up a different person—helpful, generous, and chivalrous—a person whose new admirable qualities he doesn’t recognize. Stranger still is the urge to tie a red sheet around his neck like a cape.

Bryan soon realizes this compulsion to wear a red cape is accompanied by more unusual behavior. He can’t hold back from retrieving kittens from tall trees, helping little old ladies cross busy streets, and defending innocence anywhere he finds it.

Shockingly, at school, he realizes he used to be a bully. He’s attracted to the former victim of his bullying, Scott Beckett, though he has no memory of Scott from before “the change.” Where he’d been lazy in academics, overly aggressive in sports, and socially insecure, he’s a new person. And although he can recall behaving egotistically, he cannot remember his motivations.

Everyone, from his mother to his teachers to his “superjock” former pals, is shocked by his dramatic transformation. However, Scott Beckett is not impressed by Bryan’s newfound virtue. And convincing Scott he’s genuinely changed and improved, hopefully gaining Scott’s trust and maybe even his love, becomes Bryan’s obsession.

With a foreword by C. Kennedy

Book Review

"I can't stand to fly
I'm not that naive
I'm just out to find
The better part of me"
"Superman" by Five for Fighting

How appropriate, I thought, that 'The Red Sheet' begins with those song lyrics. Because from the moment I opened the book, Bryan Dennison is trying very hard to find the better parts of himself. Or perhaps I should say, he's trying to find the better parts of himself before the "change" and failing miserably.

For you see, Bryan was the worst kind of teenager imaginable. He is a jock in a small, upper middle class town in New Hampshire. He lives with his mom as his dad abandoned them years ago. He never says "please" or "thank you". He never helps his mom without a lot of screaming and the promise of payment for his chores. He never hugs his mom or tells her he loves her. He's even worse at school around his own peers. Bryan fully subscribes to the school mantras of: sit at the politically correct tables, never bring any attention upon yourself unless it is to be revered, and go along with the crowd at all costs. And, apparently, Bryan is a huge bully with some of his jock friends, and a favorite target is Scott Beckett. Bryan was this person before the change, and now in the aftermath he has to figure out how to make a positive difference in a way that will be taken seriously.

Bryan woke up one Monday morning with a severe craving to tie a red sheet around his neck. He was also significantly changed from the horrid young man he used to be. Now he wants to help people, be a good person, be nice to his teachers, get to know his fellow students outside of his gang, help his mother and give her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. What? As Bryan learns more of his former behavior he is sickened by it and who he was. Strangest of all is that he has no memory, whatsoever, of Scott, before he sees him at lunch on that Monday. Discovering that Bryan, with the help of his "friend" Brandon, has bullied Scott unmercifully and did something very horrific to him two nights before on Saturday, makes Bryan physically ill. Now Bryan has to figure out how to make amends, how to be friends with Scott, and how to get Scott to believe that Bryan really has changed. Because it is only now that Bryan realizes he had fallen in love with Scott before the change and his horrible behavior stems from the fear of people discovering that Bryan is gay.

I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that this book will be at the top of every list of best young adult books of 2014. Told completely in Bryan's voice, as if I was sitting down with him and he was re-telling the whole story to me, 'The Red Sheet' is a powerful tale of one young man's journey back to forgiveness. Forgiving himself for his behavior, his fears, his doubts, and his insecurities is a compelling sojourn I'm not likely to forget any time soon. I'm not even sure if I have the words to express how much I loved this book. That's saying a lot from me since I am not a fan of young adult, I lived that life already and don't have much desire to return to it. But Mia Kerick's writing is something I will read, regardless of genre, because it just is that good.

"Only a man in a funny red sheet
Looking for special things inside of me, inside of me, inside of me"
"Superman" by Five for Fighting

 

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by Harmony Ink Press for the purpose of a review.

Additional Information

Format	ebook and print
Length	Novel, 190 pages/57000 words
Heat Level
Publication Date	20-February-2014
Price	$6.99 ebook, $14.99 paperback, $14.99 bundle
Buy Link	https://www.harmonyinkpress.com/books/the-red-sheet-by-mia-kerick-76-b