Crusader

I'm serious. I am an avid reader, and I think this book sits right up in the ranks of Gone With the Wind and The Outsiders. Set in a steamy and perilous urban area of Florida, Crusader starts very slow (like Tangerine) and then roars to a final, shocking, and horribly ironic climax. I nearly cried when it was over, because I wanted to keep reading it all the time. The characters are sharply drawn, and you are forced to form your own opinions about them, they are not simply given to you. Perhaps the most beautifully crafted character is Roberta Ritter, the main protagonist in the story. When you first begin, Roberta is very indifferent to the complex world around her. However, as the story moves on, you begin to see that nothing is as it appears, another characteristic of Tangerine.The final, terrifying, shocking ending will take your breath away as Roberta confronts the demon in her life. Also: Don't be surprised if someone whom you've never suspected turns out to be a killer. You have to read this book.

Okay, first of all, don't be turned off by the name. When I first saw the book, i was like Crusader? I hate fantasy books, but this one was by the author of tangerine, and i needed a good read. I READ THIS BOOK IN JUST ONE DAY! If you have seen it or read it you know that this comes close to the harry potter books in length! I just couldnt put it down! I thought that Roberta was a really intriguing character. This long book kept me hooked by MORE and MORE surprises i couldnt get over. Read this book! And take your time with it!

That sentence is on the cover of the book. I cannot think of any better way to describe the plot of this absorbing story. The main character is a 15-yearl-old girl named Roberta. Roberta is frequently mistaken for a boy because she hasn't quite gotten out of puberty yet, her father is an ego-centric looser whose idea of parenting consists entirely of leaving a bag of rental videos by the door and frozen dinners in the freezer, and her only "friends" are the people who work in her family's arcade in a run-down mall on the not-so-nice side of town. The only person who seems to take an active interest in Roberta's life is Mrs. Weiss, the elderly owner of the greeting card shop across from the arcade. Mrs. Weiss is the only person who cares enough to ask if Roberta had breakfast or if she has seen her father for more than five minutes in the past couple of days. Mrs. Weiss also does her best to teach Roberta the one lesson she feels will help her the most as she tries to play the hand she has been dealt: No matter how bad life gets, you have got to survive. Never just lay down and die.Some parts of this book are very dark and very few are extremely light-hearted, yet the overall message is an encouraging one. It's not the Disney kind of encouraging, where if you only believe long enough then all of your dreams will come true. It's the Real Life kind of encouraging. If you keep trying to succeed, life will be better than if you give up. Roberta doesn't get to live Happily Ever After, but she has hope that she will live Happily Enough.This is possibly one of the most well-written books for young adults that I have found in a very long time. I highly recommend it for anyone who enjoys the more introspective styles of storytelling.

I know people always say, "I couldn't put it down," but I am serious, I literally couldn't. When I first picked up this book I planned on reading it over the course of a month, and finished it in just one day. The Characters each have certain mysteriousness's, and quirks that keep the book interesting. Bloor cleverly mixes together all the strange things going on in this Florida community, including a failing Mall, a violent game, the loss of loved ones, a series of hate crimes, a neglected teenager, a 7-year-old murder, and a girls journey of self-discovery. You can really relate to the characters; I found myself comparing each character to someone I knew. With it's racial tension it may be to intense for some readers, but serious young adult readers will definitely appreciate it. I would highly recomend this book, not only is it an elaborate, roller-coaster ride mystey, but in every incident there are hidden moraals, and secrets revealed if you bother to look closely. Don't hesitate, it's not a waste of money, BUY THIS BOOK. I gurantee you you'll be glad that u did.

People who complain that this book isn't about a crusader are missing the point, I think. The book is about how the main character, a girl named Roberta, learns to become her own crusader--fighting for the things she believes in and righting the wrongs that she's lived with all her life. Like bloor's other book, Tangerine, this one has dense plotting and incredibly well constructed characters. And like that book, it reads a lot faster than you would expect when you look at how thick it is. I wasn't expecting to like this book, but once I got a little ways into it, I couldn't put it down. It's a funny novel, and a moving novel, and has a mystery or two. It would make a great movie.