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Choke

3.52 of 5 stars 3.52 · rating details · 236 ratings · 67 reviews

A heartfelt novel about the disturbing “choking game” trend—and one girl’s struggle for self-acceptance.

If she could—if her parents would let her—eighth-grader Windy would change everything about herself. She’d get highlights in her hair, a new wardrobe; she’d wear makeup. But nothing ever changes. The mean girls at school are still mean, and Windy’s best friend Elena is s...more

Hardcover, 240 pages

Published July 1st 2012 by Point

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Middle Grade Novels of 2012

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Mar 09, 2013 E.S.P. rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Elementary to Middle Grade Readers

The plot is a little weak. I know that it was supposed to raise awareness about the choking game. Obviously, there is not far you can go with just that topic, though I know exactly what I'd do to make it a better book. You can tell the author added different things to make it more interesting, but it just wasn't doing it for me. The ending of the story was the typical thing any person with half a brain could predict.

The main character, in my opinion, is a little too immature for someone about to...more

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Jul 03, 2012 Annette rated it 3 of 5 stars

Choke, while examining an important issue, is slow-paced enough that I'm not sure it will hold the attention of the middle schoolers at which it is aimed.

Windy, our narrator, and Elena are best friends. They aren't in the popular crowd, but they are "GP," which stands for "General Public." A new girl, Nina, starts attending their middle school and befriends Windy and Elena and helps to fend off the bulling they endure from the popular girls.

At first it seems Nina is the perfect friend, but slowl...more

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Jul 02, 2012 Kelly Hager rated it 3 of 5 stars

Windy is mostly content with her life as part of the "general population" in her middle school. She has a great best friend (Elena) and a crush on a guy who, even if he isn't interested in her, is at least nice to her. Yes, the two coolest girls in school pick on her, but life could be worse, right?

Then Nina moves to town. She's effortlessly cool and confident and wants to be Windy's friend. Elena doesn't seem to like her, but maybe she's just jealous. And then Nina introduces Windy to the conce...more

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Jun 09, 2012 Kelly rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012

This read way too young for an 8th grade main character. The story follows Windy, who wants desperately to fit in with the cool kids. So when Nina moves to town and has a "cool kid" thing about her, Windy is thrilled she gets the chance to make friends with her. Except, Nina has a secret, and it's that she plays the choke game. And she tries to teach Windy how to play, too.

I picked this one up because when I was in elementary school we had an assembly one morning after a couple of kids were take...more

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Jun 28, 2012 Ann rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, arc, contemporary, realistic

Ages 10+

[note: Scholastic says this is for grades 3 and up, because precocious third graders no longer have Regina Morrow and SVH to teach them about the dangers of doing cocaine EVAR EVEN ONE TIME. Not that I-I'm speaking from experience or anything]

On to the book! New girl Nina is tall, pretty, and wears scarves. (Could the scarves be a CLUE??? READ ON!) Narrator Windy is part of the "GP" - or General Population - at her middle school. Windy's tired of being mostly unnoticed, except to be pick...more

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Dec 14, 2012 Addy rated it 5 of 5 stars

*SPOILER ALERT*

'Choke' by Diana Lopez is about an eight-grade girl, Windy. Windy's best friend, Elena, and her are part of what she calls the 'GP', or the 'general public', the social group place between the 'in-crowd' and the 'out-crowd'. Windy wants to be in the 'in-crowd', instead of the 'GP'. However, all of that changes when a new girl joins Windy's middle school- Nina. Nina seems to have all the 'qualifications' for the in-crowd; She was tall, had hazel eyes, and dark brown hair. What Winn...more *SPOILER ALERT*

'Choke' by Diana Lopez is about an eight-grade girl, Windy. Windy's best friend, Elena, and her are part of what she calls the 'GP', or the 'general public', the social group place between the 'in-crowd' and the 'out-crowd'. Windy wants to be in the 'in-crowd', instead of the 'GP'. However, all of that changes when a new girl joins Windy's middle school- Nina. Nina seems to have all the 'qualifications' for the in-crowd; She was tall, had hazel eyes, and dark brown hair. What Winnie wasn't expecting to happen was for Nina to become friends with Elena and Windy. As Nina and Windy get closer, Windy finds herself slowly drifting farther and farther apart from Elena. Nina seems like the perfect best friend to Windy- she has a good taste in style, she's popular, she helps Windy with what to say to her crush Ronnie, and she wants to be Windy's 'Breath Sister'. Windy doesn't know what a breath sister is, but since Nina's cool, Windy figured that being a breath sister must be cool, too. A couple days later, Nina and Windy went to the mall to go shopping. Nina had bought Windy some makeup and nail polish. When they went to the bathroom to try the new things on, Windy asked what a Breath Sister was. Nina said that she would show Windy only if Windy didn't tell anybody else, because she had been expelled from a lot of schools because of it. Nina showed Windy how you became a Breath Sister- by playing the 'Choking Game'. The Choking Game is where somebody would cut off the flow of oxygen, and if the person wants to stop, they tap on the other person's arm. But, if they don't tap out, they'll 'go all the way' (pass out), and then get the 'rush'. Windy still doesn't fully understand the game, but if it's how to become a Breath Sister with Nina, she would do it. Windy didn't go all the way, and Nina said that she did a good job for the first time, and maybe next time she would do better. Throughout the rest of the book, Windy doesn't play the Choking Game again since she didn't like it, but since she was still friends, and Breath Sisters with Nina, she became more popular, and part of the in-crowd. Windy and Elena kept drifting apart, not talking to each other as much anymore. Nina still helped Windy with talking to Ronnie, but it turned out Ronnie actually liked Nina. During the last couple of chapters, Elena and Windy make up, since they were in a fight, and Nina, Elena and Windy were all friends again. However, a couple days later, Windy is called to the principal's office. When she got there, the guidance counselor was also there. They asked Windy about Nina, like if Nina told Windy any problems she had, and when she asked if something had happened, the counselor told her that Nina had tried to commit suicide. A day or two later, Windy's school had an assembly. The principal announced that Nina hadn't tried to kill herself, but was, in fact, playing the Choking Game. Because of what happened, Nina suffered severe brain damage, and would never be the same. At first, Windy felt guilty, feeling like if she had told a teacher about the game, nothing would have happened to Nina. When summer vacation came several weeks later, Elena and Windy decided to visit Nina every other weekend. “The first time they saw her, they had to fight back tears.” (López 227) “Nina can't do a lot of things anymore, but she can still walk if she holds onto the wall. She could throw a ball, but can't catch one. She can put on jeans and shirts, and close a zipper if she concentrates hard. She can say no, but her tongue gets stuck on the n sometimes. She can say yes, but holds the s until her breath runs out. But anything longer than one syllable turns into a stream of consonants, no vowels in between” (López 227-228) At the very end of the book, Diana López put in an author's note, saying that “When three of my middle school students arrived to class with bloodshot eyes, I thought they were high on marijuana, but I was wrong. They had done something that was much more disturbing. They had played the choking game, and what worried me the most was their belief that it was harmless fun.” (López 321) Diana López wrote the book 'Choke' to “live through someone else and learn through their mistakes. That way, we don't fall into the same traps.” (López 231) She wrote the book to spread awareness of the Choking Game. Before this book, I had never heard of the Choking Game. Now that I have, and have read the book, I feel as if the story will stay with me for the rest of my life, not just to keep me from playing the Choking Game, but to keep me from doing other, truthfully, stupid things.(less)

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Aug 05, 2012 Jennifer Rayment rated it 3 of 5 stars

The Good Stuff
•Author very much understands the emotions of a grade 8 girl - such a horribly confusing time and many parents forget how tough this period is
•Some humour added at just the right moments
•Lovely messages about being /accepting yourself (Love Elena - wish I had had that kind of inner confidence when I was that age)
•Parents were mostly realistic
•Not overly preachy - sorta reminds me of those Go Ask Alice type books I read when I was around 10
•Story does show the horrible consequences...more

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Oct 27, 2012 Amy Diop rated it 5 of 5 stars

"Choke" by Diana Lopez is a book about a young girl named Windy who is in the eighth grade facing the conflict of being popular, or being in the out-crowd and her only friend being Elena. A new girl comes to her school named Nina all the in-crowd girls don't like Nina because they are jealous of her. Nina has everything the perfect hair, the perfect body, and the perfect clothes. Nina quickly becomes friends with Windy and introduces something to her called Breath Sisters, to become somebodies b...more

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Jul 08, 2012 Jessica added it

Windy Soto is an average eighth grade student when she gets to hang out with the popular crowd for the first time in her life. It’s an opportunity that puts her life in danger.

In Diana López’s young adult novel Choke (Scholastic Press), Windy becomes intrigued by Nina Díaz, the new girl who stands up to the cool kids – and acts nice to Windy. Windy even neglects her dorky best friend, Elena. But Windy soon learns that Nina has her friends play “the choking game,” in which teens choke each other...more

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Jan 22, 2013 Breanne rated it 2 of 5 stars

Choke, in the shortest summary possible, is a cautionary tale. I can appreciate this; the fact that it has made me aware of the Choking Game and its dangers means the book did exactly what it was meant to do. The whole Breath Sister idea was creepy and cult-like, and the description of the game play had me cringing and clutching my throat. That was great. So my problems? Just about everything else.
It is much too immaturely read for an eigth grader's point of view. Windy and her peers act and thi...more

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Aug 24, 2012 Britta rated it 3 of 5 stars

Luckily I have never had any sort of experience or exposure to "the choking game". I've never heard it referenced in the hall, never knew anyone who did it, didn't really even know it was a real thing. I vaguely remember hearing about it on the news a few years back, but other than that, this was a non-issue to me, something that didn't seem important. Unfortunately, it is a big problem in some areas, and Choke is a great novel to expose middle-grade readers to the dangers of it before they are...more Luckily I have never had any sort of experience or exposure to "the choking game". I've never heard it referenced in the hall, never knew anyone who did it, didn't really even know it was a real thing. I vaguely remember hearing about it on the news a few years back, but other than that, this was a non-issue to me, something that didn't seem important. Unfortunately, it is a big problem in some areas, and Choke is a great novel to expose middle-grade readers to the dangers of it before they are confronted with the game. I may not have known about it, but some children will definitely have to make a decision, and hopefully they make the right one.

This novel hit some points spot on. It showed the game from both the "outside" and the "inside". Even though I could never see myself doing such a thing, I definitely understood the draw, why it seems like such a good idea to some people. I appreciated how the novel really approached the subject matter from all sides. The reader gets taken through the progression of seeing the game as harmless, being told it is harmless and starting to believe it. However, then the reader is assaulted with the ugly, dangerous truth, seeing through the characters how detrimental the game can be. The author does a great job of not bombarding the reader with "THIS IS BAD, DON'T DO IT!" from the beginning. Yes, that is ultimately the conclusion the author would like the reader to come to, but the sympathetic nature towards victims of the game makes the whole situation make sense.

My main criticism is that the novel is quite slow. For a middle-grade novel it is especially important to keep the plot rather fast-paced. I had a little bit of trouble with the pacing, so I could see that being an issue for younger children.

Overall though, it is a great way to approach the topic. If you live in an area where you know this is happening, Choke would be a great tool to educate your children. It is a much more personal experience than just being told what not to do simply because it is "stupid" or "dangerous", something I could see middle-graders really connecting to.
(less)

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Mar 07, 2013 Tayler Kannon rated it 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book. I remember at one of my old schools, girls were playing this game. I never understood what it was or what they talked about. You could say I was in Windy's state, not knowing what the choking game was. They would ask me to play with them, but I never did because at the time I didn't know what it was. I would recommend this book to everyone. People need to understand how dangerous this is. I really thought that Windy was an amazing character. She was basically innocent, not kno...more

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Nov 01, 2012 Lisa rated it 3 of 5 stars

8th grader Windy would love to be part of the in-crowd at school, but she and her best friend Elena are a little too quirky to be accepted, and are even bullied by a few of the mean girls. Then Nina moves in and changes everything. Being friends with Nina is her ticket to the in-crowd, but when Nina, who introduces the choking game to the popular kids, invites Windy to participate and become a “breath sister”, Windy wonders if she’s willing to accept the consequences of being Nina’s friend. This...more

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Feb 14, 2013 Stefani rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-teen

No, this book wasn't well-written. And what seems like the main topic--the choking game--only takes place a couple times in the book. BUT I like this book for the message.

What this book is really about is that awkward age--here, 8th grade--where you're not a kid but you're not really a teen yet. Everyone is growing, physically and emotionally, at different rates, and it's tough to know who you are. This book is one girl's exploration into finding who she is. The choking game could be anything--...more

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Nov 05, 2012 Diane rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: friendship, middle-school, washyarg

Windy and Elena have been best friends for a very long time. They are part of the GP (general public) of their middle school – not popular, not “out”, just regular. When a new girl (Nina) with style, looks, and so much potential to be popular befriends them, things start to change. Things quickly fall apart when the boy Windy likes develops a crush on Nina and Windy discovers that Nina has a scary secret.
This is a first person morality story about a deadly “game”. Nina plays the choking game a...more

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May 08, 2013 Caitlyn rated it 5 of 5 stars

this book was absolutly fabulous!!! it was about a girl named Windy (her dad is a meterologist, so that's how she got her name!) who has some trouble getting into the in-crowd. right now she's in the GP crowd. It stands for "general person". but she's not in the out-crowd so that's good. but all that changes when a new girl Nina comes to school and brings with her a deadly game. the choking game. Nina was addicted to this game and would encourage other girls to play with her to become her breath...more

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Nov 25, 2012 Grace F rated it 5 of 5 stars

Choke by Diana Lopez is about Windy, a typical 8th grade girl whose only wish is to be part of the ‘in-crowd.’ She has loving parents who tell her that she is beautiful the way she is without having to dye her hair blond or wear contacts instead of glasses with makeup. Windy still doesn’t believe them even though her best friend, Elena keeps telling her that it’s true. Her life changes, though, when a new girl, Nina arrives at her school. Nina, who is confident and personable, can stand up to th...more Choke by Diana Lopez is about Windy, a typical 8th grade girl whose only wish is to be part of the ‘in-crowd.’ She has loving parents who tell her that she is beautiful the way she is without having to dye her hair blond or wear contacts instead of glasses with makeup. Windy still doesn’t believe them even though her best friend, Elena keeps telling her that it’s true. Her life changes, though, when a new girl, Nina arrives at her school. Nina, who is confident and personable, can stand up to the mean ‘in-crowd’ girls without flinching, as well as have most of the boys in school crushing on her. Windy is extremely surprised when the new girl befriends her and Elena. Windy begins to think Nina is her shot to becoming part of the ‘in-crowd’ while simultaneously realizing how silly and weird Elena is compared to Nina. Elena and Windy start drifting apart, as Nina and Windy become closer friends. Nina appears to be the perfect best friend – she helps Windy with what to say around her crush Randy, she’s popular, she’s very stylish (she always wears a scarf around her neck), and she wants to be Windy’s ‘Breath Sister,’ which Windy doesn’t exactly know what it is, but thinks that it sounds super cool. One day, the new best friends go to the mall and Nina buys Windy a matching scarf just like hers and some makeup. While they are applying lipstick in the bathroom, Nina asks Windy if she wants to be her ‘Breath Sister’. Windy, wanting to do anything that Nina does, says yes. Nina says that ‘Breath Sisters’ play the Choking Game, which shows their trust to each other. Windy is reluctant to say that she wants to do it because she doesn’t think that something with the word choking in it is safe, but doesn’t want Nina to think that she isn’t cool, so she goes a long with it. Nina tells Windy that she can tell no one that they do this because she says that she got kicked out of her old school because of it. Windy tries to act cool, but is dreadfully scared. Nina then shows her what it is and does it on Windy. Nina grabs Windy’s throat and pinches; Windy starts panicking and sees dots. She taps Nina to tell her to stop, which she does. Nina said that she did a good job for her first time and that maybe next time she will go all the way. Over the next few weeks, Windy tries to avoid doing the Choking Game again with Nina and the other girls at school who are now playing the game with Nina. One day, Windy finally tells Nina that she doesn’t want to play and storms out of the girls’ bathroom leaving Nina with another girl at school who also participants. Windy realizes on her way back to the classroom that she left her books in the bathroom and goes back to get them. When she enters the bathroom, she finds Nina passed out on the ground. Windy rushes to her side to sees if she is okay. The other girl informs Windy that it Nina is fine and to be calm. She tells Windy that the reason why they play the game is to pass out. At this time, Nina begins to wake up and tells Windy that the objective of passing out is that they get a ‘floaty’ feeling afterwards. She states that it is like getting high, but a safe way to do it because drugs aren’t involved. Windy, who is thoroughly shocked, gets her books and leaves the bathroom as quickly as possible. Later, Windy tries and succeeds at mending her friendship with Elena. Windy is called to the principal’s office a few weeks later and when she arrives she’s told by the principal and the guidance counselor that she isn’t in trouble. They ask Windy if she knows if Nina has any problems at home with her family. Windy answers that Nina appeared to be always grounded. They then told Windy that Nina had recently tried to commit suicide, but was still alive and in the hospital and wouldn’t be able to do much for the rest of her life. Windy shares this with Elena and they’re both concerned. Many weeks later at an all school assembly, students were told that Nina didn’t attempt suicide, but was playing the Choking Game, a dangerous game that should never be done. Windy and Elena start visiting Nina during the following summer. They help her because she can no longer dress herself fully due to the brain damaged she suffered from playing the Choking Game.
The author’s purpose for writing Choke is to teach teenagers about the risky choking game and illustrate that individualism is very important. Diana Lopez’s message is that adolescents shouldn’t do whatever it takes to be popular because it could be unsafe and that it can affect your life to the point of taking it.(less)

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May 14, 2013 Allison rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya

Nina is the new girl in school. She's beautiful, and could be friends with anyone, but she picks Windy and her friend Elena, even though they're part of the GP (General Public). Nina even stands up to the popular girls who bully Windy and her friend. She seems too good to be true, and as Windy gets to know the new girl, she realizes that she engages in some very dangerous behavior. The choking game sweeps the school, and all the girls choke each other in private to experience the tingly high of...more

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May 16, 2013 Sharie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mature-content

I read it because so many people didn't want it on their book shelves. I needed to make sure it was "OK" for the young adult. It really is.

Never throughout this book do they make choking out to be fun and cool. One character is addicted, but the others are all trying to be part of the in crowd. (It's as much a discourse on why being popular isn't all it's cracked up to be.)

Very severe consequences of this game are displayed in the end. The high-school teacher wrote this to make sure kids stay...more

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Mar 23, 2013 Emily Wood rated it 5 of 5 stars

The book is great and very inspirational in my opinion.
I do agree with some people that the author runs out of ideas at the end so fills it with uneccsary fillers but it is a very good book with a great life lesson that should be spread around to children of all ages! In the story there main charachter carries a top 5 reason bopok and adds to it when she wants to. I went out and got a compostion book and decided to make one my self and I love the idea now! it is a great stress reliever and I lov...more

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Jan 05, 2013 Nicole Palumbo Davies rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult

Some of my students asked me to get this book for my classroom library. I had some reservations because it looked pretty heavy-handed, but I didn't want to discourage them from reading. It was an instant hit, so I figured I should read it myself. It is about a middle-schooler named Windy who longs to be part of the popular crowd and gets her chance when a new girl invites her to become a "breath sister" by playing "the choking game". This is no literary masterpiece. The characters are not comple...more

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Jul 23, 2012 Sarah (Workaday Reads) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: bea-2012, read-in-2012

This was a sad story about a dangerous game. I remember it was popular for a bit when I was a kid, and it's hard to believe it is still around, and still being played.

The story starts off slow, letting the reader really get to know Windy. She's a regular girl, with regular problems. She's nice and sweet, and a bit innocent.

The story had a great moral about being yourself, and learning to love who you are. It's an important lesson that takes most people years to learn, if they ever do.

The story h...more

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Nov 08, 2012 Vivien Hogg rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: angst, coming-of-age, real-ish

So I’ve got another book for you…this one actually was a bit of a shocker for me when I first found out what it was about, mostly because once I understood what it was, I realized that this was actually something I remember playing at parties when I was in gr. 8. And unfortunately, I don’t think I or any of my friends really understood what was going on and the actual realities of playing that game were. So sit up and consider this a lesson in not being stupid as well as a book review!!

So, how m...more So I’ve got another book for you…this one actually was a bit of a shocker for me when I first found out what it was about, mostly because once I understood what it was, I realized that this was actually something I remember playing at parties when I was in gr. 8. And unfortunately, I don’t think I or any of my friends really understood what was going on and the actual realities of playing that game were. So sit up and consider this a lesson in not being stupid as well as a book review!!

So, how many of you are familiar with the choking game? Not sure? It goes by a variety of names: cloud nine, gasp, pass out, flatliner, blackout, sleeper hold, to name a few. Essentially, it's being asphyxiated due to strangling (either by someone else or yourself) to the point of passing out. The idea is that due to the oxygen deprivation, you can sometimes feel a rush or a high due to your body chemistry going crazy (endorphins and stuff) - kinda like a head rush, but much more extreme. Often kids and teens (and adults) play this game because it's very easy to think that it's not harmful. You faint, there's no drugs involved and people don't die from fainting...right? Nope. Dead wrong.

The fact is that this game has killed a ridiculous number of people and hospitalized even more. How? A combo of the brain cell damage from cutting of oxygen to your brain (which also has the potential to cause seizures), as well as the various head injuries that happen from people falling after they pass out. This game usually starts off as a party game that is played with friends. However, the rush and risk of this game can be highly addictive to the point where people start playing it on their own. It's at this point that the game becomes that much more dangerous and the fatality rate goes up substantially. 3 minutes of no oxygen causes noticeable brain damage. Between 4-5 minutes of no oxygen can kill you.

So now that you know that, here's the book review:

The Gist: Windy is your typical, average, general population 8th grader. She's not in the In crowd and she's not in the Out crowd. Like the average 8th grader, she wishes she could change practically everything about herself - her hair, her clothes, her lack of make-up, even sometimes her best friend who doesn't seem to want to grow up and acts like such a child.
And then a new girl starts at her school. Nina is cool, she's pretty, and she doesn't seem to have a care - and on top of that, she decides to be Windy's friend. And not only just a friend, Nina wants to be breath sisters.
Being breath sisters with Nina changes Windy's life - she has a new group of friends in the In crowd, boys are talking to her, and Windy finally feels like she can be and do what she wants. But as this friendship continues, Windy finds herself more and more confused and even scared about what's happening.

Vopinion: Well, like I said, this book got to me because I have been one of the idiots playing this game. Fortunately for me and my friends, none of us ever took this game farther than the occasional party trick until it just became . What this book does is give us a very rational explanation as to how people are introduced to this game and why they keep playing it. With the main character being in gr. 8, this book can be read by younger grades very easily, but the story isn't too young that older teens and adults will be put off by the story. Well written, this was a light read despite the content. The biggest complaint I have about the book is that it really made it seem that this was something only girls played by using the term 'breath sisters'. Trust me, guys play too.(less)

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Aug 25, 2012 Brandi Kosiner rated it 4 of 5 stars

I totally related with Windy. Not in the popular crowd, but not really completely on the outside crowd either. On that edge and wanting to change so many things about yourself. I also related with the feeling of doing things I didn't necessarily want to but it sounded cool because a new friend thought it was fun.
I felt for Nina. She really stood up for Windy and Elena, which warmed me to her, but I could tell that something wasn't quite right with her. I just wondered what was brewing under th...more

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Jul 22, 2012 Alma Ramos-McDermott rated it 4 of 5 stars

Windy hates the way she looks, and she hates 8th grade. She desperately wants to be part of the in-crowd but, in all her years in middle school, has only managed to keep herself out of the out-crowd and in GP (General Public) land. Things seem to change for the better when she meets Nina, the beautiful, fun, popular new girl.

Read the rest of the review at: http://shouldireaditornot.wordpress.c...

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Dec 22, 2011 Jennifer rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult

There aren't too many books on choking. The author really portrays a middle school girl quite well. She feels to need to belong but is torn between what she has known her whole life and what she thinks she wants. She gets mixed up with a new girl and is introduced to the choking game. The author describes the effects of participating in the choking game and how it can be life changing, as this is the case for one of the characters.

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Oct 12, 2012 Jessica rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: teen-books

I liked that this book discussed an issue that I haven't heard about/read about before. I was interested in finding out what happened to the characters, but I felt that some parts were a little cheesy/unbelievable. I could see recommending this book on a one-on-one basis, but do not think it will sell to the teens that are looking for a realistic/edgy book, which I think this book is supposed to really appeal to.

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Jan 30, 2013 Zoey Becker rated it 4 of 5 stars

Choke had a great plot and very important message. However, I thought it was written poorly and was a bit slow, plus it didn't do a very good job of wrapping up all the subplots. Choke is a important book to read, though, so everyone can know the dangers of the real life game the book is centered around.

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Jan 22, 2013 Phoebe rated it 2 of 5 stars

1.5
I mostly skimmed through this book. I agree with the other people who have reviewed this book; the plot of the book was actually pretty interesting, but the characters and dialogue was way too young for middle school. Plus, nobody acts like that in middle school. Really.

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Nov 09, 2012 Karen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-112-book-project

This book is about a very disturbing topic, The Choking Game. Well written by a teacher who was disturbed when some of her students were playing the game. She wanted to show middle school students why people play the game and how very dangerous it is.

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“Just because your friend does it, doesn't mean you have to. Be a leader, not a follower.” — 2 people liked it

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Choke

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