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Shattering Glass

Gail Giles (Goodreads Author)

3.84 · Rating details · 4,625 ratings · 555 reviews

Lord of the Flies meets Pygmalion in this brutal look into high school bullying and peer pressure.

Simon Glass was easy to hate. . . . I guess, really we each hated him for a different reason, but we didn't realize it until the day we killed him.

Fat, clumsy Simon Glass is a loser who occupies the lowest rung on the high school social ladder. Rob, a transfer student with cha ...more

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Paperback, 240 pages

Published January 6th 2015 by Square Fish (first published March 1st 2002)

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Average rating 3.84 ·

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· 4,625 ratings · 555 reviews

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Oct 09, 2015 Taylor Knight rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, best-books-i-read-in-2015, all-time-favorites

This book has ruined me.

I had never heard of this book before my best friend told me about it. She started reading and when she finished it, she told me I had to read it. So I ordered it and waited somewhat patiently for it to arrive in my mail box. I finally received it and I started it about 30 minutes after opening the package. 3 hours later I was finished with Shattering Glass and I couldn't move.
To be honest, the first 200 pages were okay. I really liked the writing style but I didn't like ...more

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Dec 14, 2011 Thomasehs rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I read the book Shattering Glass by Gail Giles. This was an awesome book because it really related to me. It was right around my age group and some of the problems they have, boys have my age too. Shattering Glass was the best book i have ever read for many reasons. I'm not much of a reader which was why I pick the shortest book. It was only 215 pages and I really enjoyed every part of it. The book is very suspenseful because the climax of the story doesn't happen until the end of the novel. Thi I read the book Shattering Glass by Gail Giles. This was an awesome book because it really related to me. It was right around my age group and some of the problems they have, boys have my age too. Shattering Glass was the best book i have ever read for many reasons. I'm not much of a reader which was why I pick the shortest book. It was only 215 pages and I really enjoyed every part of it. The book is very suspenseful because the climax of the story doesn't happen until the end of the novel. This keeps the reader on their toes until the end. I couldn't wait to start reading it again to see if anything would happen. The book was very well written. the quotes at the beginning of the chapter were awesome. It lets you get a peek of what will happen in the end. This was my favorite part of the book.
Shattering Glass was written in first person. Young Steward, the narrator, was kinda like me, he was athletic, he had good grades, tough parents, and was a follower instead of a leader. He was perfect for the role as a narrator because he kept a lot inside. the reader got to see how he felt about certain things. I really took great advice from the things that happen to Young. I now realize even more how being a follower can be good or bad. Young Hadn't been told to do anything bad yet, so being a follower was perfect until he was told to break up with Ronna. Then he realized how doing what he was told to do wasn't always a good thing. I am now writing my own destiny and being a leader. The book Shattering Glass had many ups and downs. It was about a chubby, nerdy kid named Simon Glass who was bullied. Then a group of popular boys had enough of people picking on him. They decided to be his friend and transform him into being the most popular kid in school. They did this until he started to get cocky. The cockiness ends up not being a good idea for Glass in the end. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone unless it's a high school boy. It has a lot to do with our everyday lives and what things go on in our heads. Women wouldn't really like this type of book because it is told from the viewpoint of a high school boy. This book is also perfect for someone like me because it is a short read. This book was so good. I would read it again if i had the time. I hope the next person that reads this book enjoys it as much as i did. It is a very suspenseful book, will keep you wanting to read and never put the book down ...more

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Feb 19, 2015 Max rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: i-reviewed

Yeah. As YA mystery/thrillers go, this one was okay. Well, not okay. Tolerable at best is probably a better way to describe it. This book tried to do something that could have been really cool, but kind of fails...epically. This review's not very long, because most of my issues aren't big, but they take up so much of the story it's all I've got.

Shattering Glass is about four popular high school guys who want to turn the least popular guy in school into one of the most popular. Been there, done t Yeah. As YA mystery/thrillers go, this one was okay. Well, not okay. Tolerable at best is probably a better way to describe it. This book tried to do something that could have been really cool, but kind of fails...epically. This review's not very long, because most of my issues aren't big, but they take up so much of the story it's all I've got.

Shattering Glass is about four popular high school guys who want to turn the least popular guy in school into one of the most popular. Been there, done that. But, by the summary and the first few lines of the book, you know the loser, Simon Glass, dies. So it becomes how do the four guys go from trying this social experiment to murdering Simon.

My main issue with this book is the characters. The narrator, Young Stewart, has zero presence. The kid's basically a douchier version of Nick Caraway. Young goes through no development and is pretty much a pair of eyes to watch the story unfold. This wouldn't be that bad if any of the other characters were...you known...interesting.

I could tell Giles tried to make Rob this charming, yet manipulative bastard, but he kinda fell flat. I could never understand why people did what he asked. Young told us its because he's charismatic, but I never picked up on it. In fact Rob was nothing but the same asshole I've read about a million times before.

Giles tried to make Simon this overambitious loser who tried to surpass Rob and the others, but again, he fell flat. Instead of ambitious and two-faced he came off as confused. Simon's gimmick was doing something nice for someone then doing something equally selfish in return, but his character came off as confused, like he didn't know what to do.

The mystery aspect wasn't anything amazing. We know what happens, but this book relies on the build up. We're suppose to see the changes these characters go through, but instead we get a rushed climax that really didn't do anything other then end the book too quickly. Combine that with forced dialogue and boring characters and you've got Shattering Glass. ...more

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May 11, 2015 Kelly Hager rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I am a huge fan of Gail Giles and her books absolutely creep me out like nothing else.

These aren't ghost stories or anything like that. They're the evil things that we do to each other without any sort of supernatural bent or demonic involvement or whatever. That makes them much scarier than (most of) the stories Stephen King writes. These things happen every day, in every city in the world.

We know from the very first sentence that things are going to end very badly for Simon. What we don't know ...more

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May 15, 2008 Erica rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, my-reviews

I don't like being teased. Giles tells her readers in the very beginning that her main characters are going to kill Simon Glass. We don't find out how or why until the last page. I didn't like the characters or even the plot. I only finished the book to find out why they killed the kid.

Year of Pub: 2003
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, New York, NY

...more

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Aug 16, 2012 Cait S rated it liked it · review of another edition

3.5 stars.

This is one of the fastest books I have ever read. I devoured it in about an hour. It has such an incredibly slow build up of impending doom that I couldn't put it down.

Unfortunately the build up was actually better than the explosion. The ending left a fair bit to be desired but the rest of the book mostly made up for it.

Good, quick brain scrub. Just what I needed. ...more

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Apr 06, 2017 dori rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

wow. I really really really loved this book and the way Giles uses so so so so so so so much dramatic irony and suspense to really pull you in. Throughout the book, you get semi-bored, but get the urge to continue reading and find out what happens. The ending hits you right in the face and couldn't be more twisted. I really fell in love with the characters and became attached to their emotions myself to the point where I knew their next move every time -- until the very end. ...more

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Oct 25, 2017 Kayla Smith rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

The author did a wonderful job showing how Rob felt, and, at the end, really makes you understand why he wanted to change Simon Glass so much.

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Mar 23, 2017 Lindsey rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult

What a bizarre story, and not in a good way. It's reminiscent of "The Chocolate War" and "Cruel Intentions," but the story doesn't make any sense. The characters' motivations aren't believable and the big secret alluded to in the plot summary falls flat. It was suspenseful and kept me reading but the payoff was disappointing. ...more

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Feb 13, 2018 Ines rated it it was ok · review of another edition

2 stars for at least trying to make the story somewhat suspenseful. You do know the outcome from the very first sentence, I struggled to finish it just to find out how and why.

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Apr 21, 2019 Destiney added it · review of another edition

I stopped reading it cause I didn't like it oops ...more

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Jun 11, 2019 Eileen Neeley rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Best opening paragraph! Great book for reluctant readers.

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Oct 12, 2014 Jenna rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shattering Glass by Gail Giles is a dark take on today’s need to be socially accepted; in this instance, the popularity status/ladder in high school. Throughout the novel, you see many instances where some of the main characters are following the lead of their charismatic “leader” for no other reason to remain in his good tidings, resulting in their ability to stay in his group of accepted peers/friends. Like most high schools in real life, everyone has something to hide and in the book it is n Shattering Glass by Gail Giles is a dark take on today’s need to be socially accepted; in this instance, the popularity status/ladder in high school. Throughout the novel, you see many instances where some of the main characters are following the lead of their charismatic “leader” for no other reason to remain in his good tidings, resulting in their ability to stay in his group of accepted peers/friends. Like most high schools in real life, everyone has something to hide and in the book it is no different. No one questions why the most popular guy in school is taking in the nerd, until it is too late and his true personality/motives are revealed.

In Shattering Glass, Gail Giles tells the story of how Simon Glass, the hated school nerd and scape-goat for aggression, is taken under the wing of arguably the most popular guy in the school, Rob Hayes. Although at first it seems that Rob feels sorry for Glass, Rob’s close group of friends quickly decide that it is Rob’s way of getting back at Lance Ansley, Simon’s biggest bully and the most popular guy in the school. Within Rob’s group of friend there is Young Steward, from whose point of view the story is told. Young is the first to question Rob’s motive, but does now say anything out of fear of being unaccepted or losing Rob’s favor or attention. Although things start out great and everyone seems to be benefitting from the adoption of Glass into their group, it is not long until Glass starts to develop a backbone of his own, going against Rob and his commands. This is the start of when Rob’s ugly side comes to the surface. Rob’s leash around the boys, including Young and Glass, grows tighter and his moods are sudden and violent. Glass and Young notice this, prompting them to search for secrets that Rob might have in the school data base and library. What they find changes their entire viewpoint of Rob. Keeping the secret until the favorite’s dance, the pity Young feels for Rob causes him to fall back into complement while it seems to make Glass more unruly. The book finishes at the favorites dance with Glass changing the votes to ensure that they go against Rob’s wishes. While fighting with Rob, Glass exposes Rob’s secret while enraging the other boys. Humiliated and furious, Rob and Bob beat Simon near to death, taking out Coop’s knee, crippling him for the rest of his life, on accident while Coop was trying to protect Glass- the reason Coop got into a good college. Meanwhile Young watches innocently and in the end it is him who takes the blame for everyone else.

When Young is first introduced into the book, he is described as one of the most popular guys in school, but throughout the book it is revealed that Young isn’t really popular except for the reason that he just happened to be friends with the right group of people. Young Steward is the type of person that would usually blend into the background, but as luck has it, he was able to befriend a group of people with high popularity status. A big effect on who Young Steward is as a person all tracks back to his family life. Both of Young’s parents, established therapists, overanalyze every aspect of Young’s life, micromanaging him to the point where they control what classes he takes in high school, what he will be going to college for, and what his future career for life will be. Needless to say, Young’s life is not just stressful for him, it is a struggle to be accepted by his friends and his parents. Young is a people pleaser through and through; throughout the book this does not change much. Whether it is pleasing his parent, his friends, his girlfriend, Young will go to any lengths not to let down the people in his life. A real critical turning point in the book for Young is when Rob asks him to break up with his dedicated girlfriend Ronna, who he loves very much. Young has an internal struggle because he knows that whatever decision he makes, he will let someone down: Rob or Ronna. In the end, Young makes the decision to let down Ronna, causing him to feel disgust, anger, and disappointment in himself. At this point, I think that Young realizes that he can’t please everyone, which only makes him try harder. This shows when, after Glass is murdered, he takes the blame for everyone else so that they don’t have to suffer.

I rated this book five out of five stars because I liked how it was centered around the human need for acceptance, control, and how we deceive others by lying or hiding things about ourselves. Despite the extreme ending, I think this was a very hones book portraying the stress put on the lives of highschoolers. I would recommend this book to a mature audience (14+) who like dramas, fiction novels, or are just looking for a fun, easy-to-read novel with a twist. I think this is a book that both genders would enjoy and one that people of any ethnicity (as long as they don’t mind a few swear words or graphic violence) would enjoy as well.
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Apr 11, 2018 Pablo rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shattering Glass was a very amazing book it had many secrets, laughs, and mess up things. There was this boy name Simon Glass and he always got bullied by Rob. I personally think that this was a good and bad thing. Because they made Simon a new man like they made him go out to eat, shop, and to lose weight as well. But Rob plans were to get him popular so he can destroy his career but they don't know much about Simon. Overall this book is good and I recommend a lot of people to read it you will ...more

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Oct 04, 2018 Rebecca rated it really liked it · review of another edition

this book is what keeps me up at night being a mother.

A little bit 13 Reasons Why ish, this book definitely is not for the faint of heart. There are definitely some triggers, which I will not disclose as they will reveal spoilers.

A story filled with secrets and what those will do to prevent those secrets being shared. No one is as who they appear. This one will have you thinking well after you have turned the last page.

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Oct 30, 2014 Meghna Shankar rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shattering Glass, by Gail Giles, relays the tale of a group of “popular” boys who decide to take an outcast, Simon Glass, under their wing and turn him into Prince Charming. Rob, the leader, is insistent on controlling everything and making sure everything goes according to plan. When it starts to become too much, Young Steward, the narrator, can only watch as his friends start to take matters into their own hands.

One of my favorite aspects of the story was that it was not written from the he Shattering Glass, by Gail Giles, relays the tale of a group of “popular” boys who decide to take an outcast, Simon Glass, under their wing and turn him into Prince Charming. Rob, the leader, is insistent on controlling everything and making sure everything goes according to plan. When it starts to become too much, Young Steward, the narrator, can only watch as his friends start to take matters into their own hands.

One of my favorite aspects of the story was that it was not written from the hero’s point of view, rather a bystander’s. While it is still in first person, it seems like the reader is viewing the story through the eyes of someone watching the events unfold. Giles was very descriptive when writing. She managed to describe everything without making the book too heavy in detail. She added adjectives in just the right places to make her sentences more advanced. For example, she wrote, "As we jogged, our sneakers slapped against the wet sand. Coop ran, slow and steady, more at ease than I had seen him in weeks." The way Giles wrote the story did not seem cliche at all. I also liked how she infused subtle humor into an otherwise serious book. The dialogue, the actions, and the way she describes the environment all have a dark comedy feel to them. Giles has a very firm grasp on a typical high school and the characters are very enjoyable. She creates a sense of mystery to shroud each character. None of them are what they seem, and only Young, the narrator, is able to see the darkness behind their masks of goodness. I think Giles raised awareness to the fact that everyone has an ulterior motive behind a seemingly good action. She portrays Rob, the main character, as an attractive, intelligent, well-liked boy while also making him rather sinister. Even Simon, the sniveling, unpopular nerd has a dark side. This reminds me of myself. Every kind action is meant to benefit myself. Although it feels good to help someone, I find it feels better when people like you for being helpful. Something I didn’t like was that the author kind of gave us an ending in the middle. Every chapter began with an interview or testimony of someone who knew Young, Rob, Simon, and their friends. They told the reader what happened after a certain incident, which we don’t find out about until the end. The testimonies described how the lives of each boy changed drastically after the “incident”. This was the reason for an extremely abrupt ending. While I do think the story was ended appropriately the way she wrote it, if she hadn’t told us what happened after, the story wouldn’t have been cut off right after the incident occurred. However, while I was reading, I found the sneak peaks into the future very entertaining.

I think this story is meant for a slightly older audience than myself. Brace yourself for some mature topics and offensive words. ...more

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Apr 15, 2012 Carmen Yeung rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: teenagers

Shelves: 2011-2012-advisory

__________Spoiler Alert c:_______________
I picked out this book from the library, because i thought the title was amazingly interesting. Shattering glass, reminds me of when people in tvb start to fight they will break the mirror or something. But it started with the narrator named Young, but hes not the protagonist. The protagonist is Rob, who is charming and just transferred in. I thought it was quiet weird to have someone just transfer in and become popular like that, but anywho i enjoy seei __________Spoiler Alert c:_______________
I picked out this book from the library, because i thought the title was amazingly interesting. Shattering glass, reminds me of when people in tvb start to fight they will break the mirror or something. But it started with the narrator named Young, but hes not the protagonist. The protagonist is Rob, who is charming and just transferred in. I thought it was quiet weird to have someone just transfer in and become popular like that, but anywho i enjoy seeing Young Coop Bob and Rob hang out, because they are like regular people. They shop, play sports and talk. Something that seemed unordinary was Simon, he was a geek and was very unpopular, until Rob decided to turn him around. After his new look and new style of talking, he is no longer looked down upon. Like any power hungry kings, they go after their prey after gaining power, Simon started to climb up closer and closer to Rob on the popularity triangle. Soon Simon even took Rob's girlfriend Ronna. The excitement doesn't start until the end, where they were arguing on the field and hit Coop with a bat and they ran, which ended the story with a lot of thoughts. One of my thoughts were that they would never be friends ever again, because what had happened happens.

The blurb of the story kind of summarizes the story, but i'm happy i actually read the entire book, because there was more drama and excitement leading me to this ending that leave me wondering with my thoughts. I really want to know what happens to Coop, Coop was the best one out of all their friends, because he tries to tie the friendship together. If i was Rob, i would regret letting Simon join the crew. If i was Rob i would blame Simon for ruining everything, even taking Coop's life. But since i'm not Rob i would feel sad for Simon, because he had suffered all his life, he was a nerd and he was picked on. No one likes to be bullied, thats why when people gain power, they strive for more to maintain themselves into a secure stand. This book was fantasic, i'm glad there wasnt a lot of violence, except the end where the blood gushed out and splattered everywhere.
(ps. spoiler alert again). ...more

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Aug 23, 2013 Heather Pearson rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommended to Heather by: Shannon

What could cause four seemingly normal teens to violently kill one of their classmates. Author Gail Giles Gives us the ending in the first lines of tihs story then slowly tells us how this disaster unfolded.

Simon Glass was the school nerd, the butt of jokes and was picked on just for being alive. Rob Hayes is new to the school yet quickly claimed the spot of most popular boy. It came as a great surprise to Rob's friends, when he decided to befriend Simon with the goal to make him popular. Why d ...more

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Jun 01, 2014 Ryanne Benz rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Let me start off by saying I absolutely loved this book! The way that Gail Giles has one of the main characters, Rob, come up with a plan to make a nerd popular made the story really suck you in. Along with the boys dealing with the nerd, Glass, everyday they were also going through their own high school drama. Giles shows how real high school can get, and how some people end up giving up everything just to have friends.
The main focus of the book is around Simon Glass who they call Glass for sho ...more

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Mar 01, 2012 Chason rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Chase Johnson
Miss Jackson
English 3
February 27, 2012

I read the book Shattering Glass by Gail Giles. It was a very interesting book and I liked it for the most part. There were parts that I didn’t really care for and it seemed like it dragged parts on and Making things that weren’t really a big deal seem like it was a big deal . Besides the dragging on parts it was very good. I liked how there was lots of detail on what was going on and there was always something exciting about to happen. The boo ...more

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Nov 26, 2010 Lisa rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: english-420, bleak-young-adult-lit, young-adult-literature

Gail Giles’ Shattering Glass tells the chilling story of a twisted popularity contest in a Texas high school. In what began as a kind of dare, the four most popular boys in school, Rob, Young, Bob, and Coop, begin a quest to make Simon Glass, the hated class nerd, into the class favorite. They teach him how to dress, talk, and act cool, and gradually, he wins the favor of the rest of the student body. However, things don’t go quite as planned when Simon Glass begins doing what he wants to do, in ...more

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Nov 21, 2011 Zachary rated it really liked it · review of another edition

The book I read was Shattering Glass by Gail Giles. It is 215 pages long. This book is ever suspenseful; I enjoyed reading this book a lot. It kept me wanting more pages after pages. This book jumped to the top of my favorite booklist. It kept me at the edge of my seat the whole time. It only took me three days to read it because I did not want to put it down. I liked how the group of friends basically adopted the nerdy kid of the school and made him popular. It worked but then it took a turn f ...more

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Aug 11, 2011 Arminzerella rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: realistic, murder, young-adult-fiction, violence, relationships, relationship-problems, suspense-thriller, high-school, friendship, peer-pressure

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May 04, 2016 Sydney Bartel rated it liked it · review of another edition

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Oct 28, 2019 Malachi Shoemaker rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shattering glass is a phrase that can be interpreted in many ways. In this book, Simon glass, the school geek is being transformed to be popular. The quote ,”shattering glass” is referring to the hatred that his friend group grows towards Glass throughout the book. His friends, the leader Rob Haynes, Young Steward, “the bully” Lance, “the stud” Bob and “the dumb jock” Coop all go through a months worth of work in order to change Glass to the guy they want him to be. Gail Giles gives amazing deta Shattering glass is a phrase that can be interpreted in many ways. In this book, Simon glass, the school geek is being transformed to be popular. The quote ,”shattering glass” is referring to the hatred that his friend group grows towards Glass throughout the book. His friends, the leader Rob Haynes, Young Steward, “the bully” Lance, “the stud” Bob and “the dumb jock” Coop all go through a months worth of work in order to change Glass to the guy they want him to be. Gail Giles gives amazing details during the book to give every reader a mind-boggling experience. As I read this book, I was consistently ready for whatever was coming in the next chapter.
During the book, Giles writes in first person as Young. Young is the quiet one in the friend group, but he is also very popular. She makes this book seem as though you’re actually in Young’s position. Farther into the book, Giles paces out the book very slowly. She saves the most amount of action for the end. The book holds a varied amount of scenes that keeps the reader on the edge of their seat. Fully comprehending the general meaning of the book is hard while you are reading it. The way Giles writes the book creates a feeling inside of the reader that forces you to continue reading. She writes so well by giving the characters such ambition in their roles. For example, during the scene where the whole friend group is trying to get Young’s lover, Ronna, to go to the senior dance with Glass instead, so he is more popularly viewed, Glass makes this quote ,”You know, Young, this is as good as anything gets. I wonder if this is it? Is this the very best day I’ll ever have?”(Giles 122) and by making this quote, it gives the reader a hint of anger knowing that Young has feelings for Ronna. Since the friend group thinks that everything should be about Glass, they slowly feel like they’re losing control of themselves.
As the story progresses, it seemingly becomes overwhelming to the reader. Giles writes the characters to at one point do what they think is helping each other out, just to cause them to begin running into problems. Young and Glass no longer get along after Glass willingly takes Ronna to the dance. Rob and Young increasingly begin to see that Glass is revealing hidden vulnerabilities, they begin to take control. The main idea here is to take over Glass completely, but to allow him to think that he’s at the top of the chain, just so they can knock him back down to the bottom. Giles hints at the reader that their plan is to kill him, but does not write her book to reveal that secret in true words. At some points in the book, the characters actually grow to like Glass. They really believe that they have done a job well done, and they just want to leave him be. But as Young and Rob discuss many times, they are already subject to following through with their plan. The entire time, none of the friends give up the truth on what they are planning on doing.
Being able to read this book is a delight. As the plot shows, the conflicts become very vulgar. Many people enjoy reading such a thing though. It keeps the reader unprepared for what is next. When Rob and Glass are working together to change Rob’s grade in the system, while Glass is using his “geek skills” and hacking into the school computer system, both characters are noticing very obvious things about each other that they can take advantage of. Rob notices that Glass has money, which allows him to throw parties at Glass’ mansion of a house. He believes that this will increase his popularity factor. Glass notices things about Rob’s life. Things that he has been hiding from the whole friend group, like his real name, his real father, the reason he attends the school he does now. There are many factors that contribute to this belief, because Rob was sketchy throughout the entire book about things like where his father was always at when they visited his house and why he never mentioned anything about his past. It was only a certain amount of time before they started to turn their backs on each other.
Once the group starts to realize that they’re turning away from each other, they slowly begin to assume that it is Simons fault. In this quote, “Rob wants to be the puppet master. He could tell the whole school who to like. And he told you, too.”(Giles 214), Simon is in the bathroom with Young during school. They are discussing Robs past and they are trying to figure out exactly why he has been hiding everything from his friends. Once they get past the fact that he has been hiding things from everyone, they move onto the opinion that Rob can run the crowd. That Rob has control over everyone. Periodically throughout the book, I began to realize that’s exactly what he was doing. Rob took control of all of his friends to cause them to act under his oath. This was outstanding to me because until that scene had occurred, I didn’t even realize myself what Rob was doing, I just focused on the group trying to make Glass popular. This reverse psychology used by Giles was seemingly amazing to me, as it made me actually accept that Robs true plan wasn’t to just take over Glass. He has a lot more power than Giles makes him seem like he has.
Gail Giles obviously enjoys to add a twist onto her books. Shattering Glass absolutely has a twist to it, and I was beyond shocked about it. Her other book, Right Behind You, was definitely one to keep my on my toes. She does enjoy to add a twist, but all of her books are somewhat sick and twisted in some way. It may not be until the end for the twisted part to occur, or it may just be revealed at the beginning. Either way, her writers logic is outstanding and she is by far my favorite author. Shattering Glass can be found on Amazon, and it can also be found at Barnes and Noble. This book was very intense in the fact that the characters were so driven to include factors that allowed them to be so important in the novel. This book is strongly recommended on my part, and all of the people that contributed to the 3.8/5 stars on goodreads.com. Even though this book isn’t for everyone, the people who have a dark sense of humor and a desire for twisted books, Shattering Glass by Gail Giles should be your next read.
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Oct 08, 2009 Hickman Students rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Fat, clumsy Simon Glass is a nerd, a loser who occupies the lowest rung on the high school social ladder. Everyone picks on him--until Rob Haynes shows up. Rob, a transfer student with charisma to spare, immediately becomes the undisputed leader of the senior class. And he has plans for Simon.
Rob enlists the help of his crew--wealthy, intellectual Young, ladies' man Bob, and sweet, athletic Coop--in a mission: Turn sniveling Simon from total freak to would-be prom king.
But as Simon rises to th ...more

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Jan 31, 2015 Logan LeDuc rated it it was amazing

Full Review at www.loganashleyleduc.com

Oh. My. God. This book took my breath away. I honestly mean that - the last 30 pages or so, I don't think I full exhaled once.

I sat in a book coma for an extended period of time trying to come up with words for how this book made me feel.

I won't lie - there were points where I was confused. But by the end, it all made sense and it made me want to go back and reread all those parts over again, which should always be the authors goal - to make you want to rer ...more

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Apr 10, 2009 B rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: y-mystery, y-contemporary, y-boy

The story of a high school experiment gone wrong told by one of the boys involved. When a new boy takes over as the most popular boy in school, he decides to show his power by making one of the dweeb, picked upon kids, into one of the school favorites. His motives aren't really clear but his group of friends support his efforts nonetheless, even when his requests go way too far. A feeling of dread starts from the first paragraph which tells you that this dweeb boy will be killed by the end of th ...more

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Apr 09, 2011 Christina rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, mind-psych

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Aug 20, 2015 Alex Zimmerman rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: maine-west-summer-reading-2015

I thought the book, "Shattering Glass", was very interesting. It can be related to by many high school teenagers because it's about a group of "popular" kids that adopt a loser named Simon Glass into their group. They transform him from a nerdy kid with no friends to a confident guy that everybody likes. It is made more realistic by Young, the narrator, not liking Simon. Towards the end of the book, it all leads to the twisted ending during the dance. I was very surprised at that because it was ...more

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Young Adult > Teen

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About Gail Giles

Gail Giles

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Gail Giles is the author of six young adult novels. Her debut novel, Shattering Glass, was an ALA Best of the Best Book, a Book Sense 76 selection, and a Booklist Top 10 Mystery for Youth selection. The novel is about an high school boy named Simon Glass that is helped to become one of the most popular dogs in school by other students. Her second novel, Dead Girls Don’t Write Letters, was an ALA T ...more