Of Things Not Seen

Bloody brilliant. The strength of character and wrenching realism of the storyline is one of the keys in this book, for me at least. Highly believable and Ben is a *wonderful* character, very likable; I felt for him throughout the entire book and quite liked the ending in that the conclusion was both satisfying and a long time coming, as well as the blossoming hope it provides for particular other characters (I won't spoil it) involved in the events of the story.If you can get it, do so.

This story is about a 16 year old boy named Ben Corbett. His stepfather abuses him, and he can't tell anybody because then his stepfather would move the family to another community. The catalyst for change is Ben's writing - he wins a trip to a writers workshop for teenagers and has to fight to go to it. An excellent story about the power to change your life. Aker is a high school teacher, and has written really believable teen characters.