Shattering Glass

           “Shattering Glass” by Gail Giles is a book that should be read by every high-schooler before their graduation. It is a great story of betrayal, jealousy, hatred and mistrust amongst a bunch of high school guys.

 

            “Shattering Glass” takes place in present day Texas, following four seniors in high school. Young, the main character, is a brilliant and popular kid with friends like Coop, the dumb football jock, Bob, the popular ladies’ man, and Rob, the new yet popular kid who is beloved by all. One day, while hanging out, the four-some spots a kid picking on a nerd who has no social grace at all. With a shirt tucked into his too small pants, zipper half up, pocket protector with all sorts of pens, and too much jell in his come-over hair, Glass is the classic textbook geek. They decide amongst themselves to turn this socially awkward nerd into the most popular kid in the entire school by having him win “Class Favorite.” Glass, after much persuasion, eventually agrees to play along.

 

            While transforming Glass, the characters learn more about each other, maybe a little too much. They learn of untold secrets that could change the entire friendship. Jealousy of Glass begins to seep in because now, Young is no longer the center of attention, but is replaced by Glass. Deep anger and hatred start to take its place and by the end of the book they are all willing to do the worst thing of all. Murder. Although the reader is told the ending of the story at the very beginning, it still has unthinkable twists in the plot. With the influence of popularity and girls, the group of guys is willing to do anything to make sure they stay on top.

 

            Relating to the book is very easy. Gail Giles stereotypes almost everyone in the book, but it’s so accurate anyone could relate to a character. As secrets and jealousy seep between the friends, the reader gets a perfect thought-provoking look into the personalities and behaviors of the characters. My favorite character is Young because he is smart, well liked, but also has problems with his family. He is the person I can relate to most because I find that there are a lot of similarities between us. He is a very poetic person but has difficulty controlling his anger, and is naturally a very jealous person, which stems from his own insecurity. My favorite part of the entire book is the very end where everything comes to an end. The end is also very ironic which is why I like it. Young, the only one who didn’t do anything, was the one who got the entire incident blamed on him.

           

            “Shattering Glass” is one of my all time favorite books. Every time I read “Shattering Glass”, I feel the horrifying truth of how easy it is for everything to fall apart, even for such promising students such as Young. It always reminds me of how important relationships with friends and family truly is. “Shattering Glass” is horrifyingly disturbing with unexpected twists that keep the plot always interesting. “Shattering Glass” by Gail Giles is an amazing book and I highly recommend that anyone who can read should read it.