Who will be the next to die?
They've taken the children. And the son of a general. But that isn't enough.
More horror... read full description
They've taken the children. And the son of a general. But that isn't enough.
More horror... read full description
reviews
Apr 30, 2008
Carrie-anne
rated it: 
Mark Haddon, author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, said in an interview with Horn Book Magazine, “Most teenage fiction has an invisible ring of safety built into it. However sticky situations get, however dark the material, little signals here and there give off the message that this is ‘only’ a kids’ book. Don’t worry. Nothing too bad will happen. Things will come right in the end” (Wynne-Jones, 2004, p. 265). Indeed, Curious Incident, though about a teenage protagonist,
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Feb 11, 2010
Trevor
rated it: 
Published first in 1979 (one of my prized books is a signed first HC edition), it reads as if it were a hostage crisis unfolding right before us. A school bus full of kids is taken hostage by young men fighting for their country and religion. There's some major Stockholm syndrome, and some very unsettling plot twists revealed as the book progresses. There's a general in charge of anti terrorist activities, who ends up putting his own son in the hostage takers' paths. All the decisions made by th
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Feb 02, 2012
Bobbie
rated it:
The truth is, I'm not sure how I feel about this book. As I was reading it, I turned page after page - drowning in the words and the action. I felt like I was there. My blood pressure skyrocketed; I felt like I was in one of my all-too-vivid nightmares - and yet, I kept reading. At least I didn't pee my pants...
But then it ended. The ending left me reeling, caught in that no-man's-land between hating and loving, unsure how to feel or what to make of the book. Who was the biggest victim More...
But then it ended. The ending left me reeling, caught in that no-man's-land between hating and loving, unsure how to feel or what to make of the book. Who was the biggest victim More...
Sep 28, 2011
Tayler
rated it: 
So, when I heard the different titles of Robert Cormier, and hearing that he wrote bleak books, I was excited to read one of his novels for my YA literature class. Boy was I wrong in my anticipation!
A bus of preschool students has been hijacked and held for ransom. Miro is new at the job and wants to do Artkin proud, but has to deal with Kate, the substitute bus driver. While on the other hand, Ben is pulled into his father's dangerous duty as part of the Inner Delta to try and stop More...
A bus of preschool students has been hijacked and held for ransom. Miro is new at the job and wants to do Artkin proud, but has to deal with Kate, the substitute bus driver. While on the other hand, Ben is pulled into his father's dangerous duty as part of the Inner Delta to try and stop More...
Jan 10, 2011
John
rated it:
Robert Cormier is my favorite author.
Miro Shantas is one of four masked men that takes a bus full of children hostage atop a bridge. Their demands: the release of several political prisoners and the dismantling of a secret intelligence organization called Inner Delta. If the demands are not met, the children will be killed. But after one child dies by accident, it starts to look like he may have been the lucky one...out of them all.
This is the most recent Cormier book I've re More...
Miro Shantas is one of four masked men that takes a bus full of children hostage atop a bridge. Their demands: the release of several political prisoners and the dismantling of a secret intelligence organization called Inner Delta. If the demands are not met, the children will be killed. But after one child dies by accident, it starts to look like he may have been the lucky one...out of them all.
This is the most recent Cormier book I've re More...
Dec 02, 2010
Krista
rated it: 
The story of terrorists hijacking a school bus of children, and using them to negotiate their demands, written long before the idea of 'terrorism' was commonplace. Three main teen characters include Miro, the terrorist recruit; Kate, the substitute bus driver; and Ben, the U.S. general's son who is roped into being a negotiator.
Though much of the story--especially the character development of Milo and Kate--was interesting, overall, I wasn't a big fan. Cormier didn't seem to have much More...
Though much of the story--especially the character development of Milo and Kate--was interesting, overall, I wasn't a big fan. Cormier didn't seem to have much More...
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Jan 14, 2010
Ash... =]
rated it:
Book Summary
Miro is sixteen, and it's time for him to prove his manhood by killing for his cause. Miro has been raised and trained as a terrorist, knowing only his older brother and Artkin, his leader, as family. As part of a gang of terrorists, Miro helps captu ...
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Miro is sixteen, and it's time for him to prove his manhood by killing for his cause. Miro has been raised and trained as a terrorist, knowing only his older brother and Artkin, his leader, as family. As part of More...
Miro is sixteen, and it's time for him to prove his manhood by killing for his cause. Miro has been raised and trained as a terrorist, knowing only his older brother and Artkin, his leader, as family. As part of a gang of terrorists, Miro helps captu ...
More
Miro is sixteen, and it's time for him to prove his manhood by killing for his cause. Miro has been raised and trained as a terrorist, knowing only his older brother and Artkin, his leader, as family. As part of More...
Jan 25, 2012
Kyle
rated it:
SO MESSED UP! But oh so sweet. This is definitely on the psychological side of awesome in Robert Cormier's works. Miro, a new terrorist..hijacker..what have you, is trying to do his job. Kate the driver of the bus hijacked is trying to hold her bladder. Artkin wants to open up Inner Delta and expose it (a supposedly closed government agency). Ben and his father struggle with a relationship and over Inner Delta they only further separate themselves. HOLY CHAOS! But the entire story is all ar
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Dec 06, 2010
Raylee
rated it: 
This novel in typical Cormier fashion is bleak and on the border of grotesque. The novel is told from 4 perspectives. The first perspective is that of Miro a 16-year-old terrorist who participates in a plot to highjack bus full of young children in order to expose a secret government agency. Miro is supposed to kill the busdriver, an honor as it will be his first murder, but is thrown off when the bus driver is an eightteen-year-old girl instead of the old man that he was expecting. The story is
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Dec 07, 2009
Charlotte
rated it:
bleak
After I finished this book I just sat there on the couch for a solid ten minutes not doing anything but thinking. I'm a champion for bleak literature, but I still don't know how to respond to this book. I've never read anything like it. Telling the story of a bus of children taken hostage by terrorists, this book is packed with emotion, but I didn't even know what emotions I was feeling or how to respond to them. Several times I felt punched in the stomach and had to catch my br More...
After I finished this book I just sat there on the couch for a solid ten minutes not doing anything but thinking. I'm a champion for bleak literature, but I still don't know how to respond to this book. I've never read anything like it. Telling the story of a bus of children taken hostage by terrorists, this book is packed with emotion, but I didn't even know what emotions I was feeling or how to respond to them. Several times I felt punched in the stomach and had to catch my br More...
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Jan 10, 2012
Laina
rated it:
Robert Cormier is an absolute genius. His books are the kind that make me sore after reading them because I'm so tense, and just when I think I've figured them out, I'm thrown for a crazy loop. Yes, that's exactly how this book was.
My favorite part of this book? Definitely the narration. Cormier is one of those few authors who can pull off switching points of views often. I especially enjoyed the insight into Miro. His character was so intriguing and made me look at terrorists in More...
My favorite part of this book? Definitely the narration. Cormier is one of those few authors who can pull off switching points of views often. I especially enjoyed the insight into Miro. His character was so intriguing and made me look at terrorists in More...
Jun 07, 2010
Lindsay
rated it:
The story is told from several points-of-view, but is mainly about two teenage boys. One is a boy named Ben, the son of a general who is head of a top secret government agency is the US. The other is Miro, a "freedom fighter" or terrorist for his country.
Ben is at a private school his dad attended and keeps mentioning the "incident with the bus and the bridge." he is waiting for his parents' visit all day, writing his thought on paper.
Miro is an orphan who was tak More...
Ben is at a private school his dad attended and keeps mentioning the "incident with the bus and the bridge." he is waiting for his parents' visit all day, writing his thought on paper.
Miro is an orphan who was tak More...
Jan 22, 2010
Karla
rated it:
This book was very interesting. It was written in 1989, a couple of years before i was born. The author narrates the story of a handful of terrorist and how they plan to hijack a bus of kindergartners.The main terrorist; Miro and Adkins were both raised to believe that this type of assault on the United States was necessary to "regain" back their homeland. As the story continues, other characters are introduced, including Kate, a young woman who happens to sub-in for her uncle and dri
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Nov 15, 2010
Ashlee
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Dec 10, 2009
Abigail
rated it:
Awesome and depressing novel. Terrorists hijack a bus full of children with a teenage girl who was substituting as a driver that day. They drug the children with chocolate and make demands that the government meet their demands of releasing a fellow terrorist and give them lots of money or else they will kill one child an hour. Cormier does an excellent job of getting the reader into the head of each and every character. There are no clear cut rights and wrongs in this novel. We have sympath
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Apr 06, 2011
Mandy
rated it:
At first I was a little skeptical of this book. Everyone kept on talking to me about how amazing Rober Cormier was and I finally had to read one. This book was amazing! I think I have found a new author to obsess over. This book was really interesting and I loved the style of writing. I thought that it was neat how he was able to describe the situation perfectly. I wasn't expecting it to be about a hijacking and it's future events-but I really enjoyed it. I especially loved the suprise ending th
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Jul 16, 2011
Crystal
rated it:
This book took a turn I had not suspected. One of the main characters and narrators was a terrorist. As he was talking to Kate, one of the captives, I saw how he had grown up knowing nothing but violence as a means of survival. I almost felt sorry for him, but not quite. All of the characters in the book were changed by the events on the bridge. The flash back and forwards were very effective. It makes you wonder what happened with the general's son, Ben, that he is ashamed of. The entire
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Nov 08, 2010
Allredj
rated it:
This is bleak Young Adult literature. It is about a bus full of small children that are on their way to a day camp. The bus is taken hostage by terrorists. The 16-year-old female driver keeps wetting her pants because she is so scared of what will happen. A young boy is called upon by his lieutenant general father to go to the bus to offer the ransom. The terrorists cause problems, shots are fired, and things get messy. I wouldn't recommend this book to middle school kids, but I thought th
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Jun 14, 2010
Jessica
rated it:
After the First Death tells the story of a hijacking of a bus full of children on the way to summer camp. There are 3 main protagonists: Kate, a 16 yr. old girl who is driving the bus, Miro, a teenage hijacker, and Ben the son of a general. The three lives of these characters come crashing together because of this bus hijacking. Miro is supposed to kill the bus driver, Kate, but is denied that “honor” because a child dies of an allergic reaction. Kate is trying to stay alive, and keep the ch
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Oct 17, 2009
Jessica
rated it:
This was a surprisingly enjoyable experience with young adult bleak fiction and the writing of Cormier. I read it with a preface of warning, and perhaps it helped to deal with the book having been prepared--for indeed it was no sunshiny, cheerful tale. It addresses the issue of terrorism, and modern war, as four foreign men (who were trained and raised to be terrorists and do this work to regain their homeland)hyjack a school bus full of four and five year old kids, and a young woman, Kate, who
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Apr 15, 2009
Heather
rated it:
Definitely up on my high list. This is the perfect book relating patriotism and fanatasism.
Highjackers kidnap a bus full of children and demand several things. They are willing to lay their life for their cause. The general here in America offers up his own on as the person to bring them something they are asking as proof that their leader died. His own son. So which is the patriot and which is the fanatic?
One of my favorite comparisons is when Kate compares the youngest terrorist t More...
Highjackers kidnap a bus full of children and demand several things. They are willing to lay their life for their cause. The general here in America offers up his own on as the person to bring them something they are asking as proof that their leader died. His own son. So which is the patriot and which is the fanatic?
One of my favorite comparisons is when Kate compares the youngest terrorist t More...
Sep 23, 2011
Whitney
rated it:
After reading the beginning of this book, I found myself thinking that there was no way that I would want to suggest this book to my students. I just didn't think it was a good idea to put the subjects that this book started out with in front of young adults who may or may not be dealing with something in their lives that could be escalated by reading this book. I do have to admit that as much as I don't want to say that I loved the book because of the seriousness of the subject, the book is d
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Jun 14, 2010
Jessica
rated it:
After the First Death was most definitely a thriller. The story revolves around a hostage situation, but we see the story from three different perspectives. The first follows Kate, a young teenage girl who happens to be the substitute bus driver on the day that the bus is taken over by terrorists. She must deal with the terrifying responsibility that is suddenly thrust upon her. The second perspective belongs to one of the terrorists, a young man who is excited and nervous to be on his fir
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Jun 14, 2010
Sierra
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Jun 14, 2010
Sarah
rated it:
Robert Cormier succeeded in writing an intense piece of fiction, yet not too intense for an adolescent audience. After the First Death tells of a terrorist plot and the hostages at their mercy. The unique contribution to literature is that somehow Cormier tells the story from the perspective of both the hostages and a terrorist. Miro is a young sixteen maybe seventeen year old boy who awaits his initiation as a defender of his nation. Seeing his thoughts and hearing his history causes the re
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Oct 14, 2009
Rebecca
rated it:
Categories/Genres: terrorism, father/son relationships, suicide, depression, coming of age
Written well befor 9/11, this book provides an interesting look at a terrorist situation--a group of terrorists kidnapping a bus and threatening to kill the children if their demands aren't met. Cormier is a master at forcing the reader into his characters' heads. During the course of the novel, the reader sees this terrorist situation unfolding through the heads of Miro (a young terrorist), K More...
Written well befor 9/11, this book provides an interesting look at a terrorist situation--a group of terrorists kidnapping a bus and threatening to kill the children if their demands aren't met. Cormier is a master at forcing the reader into his characters' heads. During the course of the novel, the reader sees this terrorist situation unfolding through the heads of Miro (a young terrorist), K More...
Nov 07, 2011
Raven
rated it:
It is definitely one of the most disturbing books I have read. I love dark books with sad endings, but this one was hard for me to read alone. Its not scary by any means in a horror film sense it just shows you a whole new way of thinking that is destructive and seems impossible to achieve. Cormier captures the mind of a terrorist that I expect to be most accurate. What happens in this book will make you think and will have you so twisted up that you at times may forget who was right and who was
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Aug 18, 2011
First published in 1979, this novel foreshadows post-9/11 fears of terrorist attacks and of the risk that government forces will go too far to prevent them. The title is ironic: in the Dylan Thomas poem (quoted as an epigraph so that readers will know even if they don't know the poem), the words are "After the first death, there is no other," but here there is always more death. Through multiple perspectives, even including that of a young woman, Cormier tells the story of men from an
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Nov 28, 2010
Kimmiie
rated it:
This book kept me reading, that's why it's a 3 star. it's pretty interesting... so yeah. not a bad read.
Nonetheless, I have to say the ending was crappy, but I am a sucker for happy endings, so yeah, it's pretty obvious I'd hate the ending.
It's not a bad book, despite being a book i read for a school assessment, it was a lot more bearable than "Breath" by Tim Winton, another school assessment book.
This isn't that bad of a book, so I would recommend it if More...
Nonetheless, I have to say the ending was crappy, but I am a sucker for happy endings, so yeah, it's pretty obvious I'd hate the ending.
It's not a bad book, despite being a book i read for a school assessment, it was a lot more bearable than "Breath" by Tim Winton, another school assessment book.
This isn't that bad of a book, so I would recommend it if More...
May 21, 2011
Margo
rated it:
This book requires a very alert reader. There are parts that can be confusing because you have to figure out what is happening, and what has already happened. The book is written in parts and some parts are about the terrorists hijacking the bus. Other parts are around the General and his son. Some of those parts are written after the hijacking is over, others are written during the hijacking as the two stories overlap. I see this as being a challenge for some readers to understand. The book end
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