Whitechurch

by Chris Lynch

A collection of short stories chronicles the uneasy relationship among three teenagers in the small town of Whitechurch--the town troublemaker, his popular and generous girlfriend, and his steadfast friend, who becomes his girlfriend's confidant.

Genres: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, Novel In Verse, Teen

247 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Chris Lynch is the Printz Honor Award-winning author of several highly acclaimed young adult novels, including KILL SWITCH, ANGRY YOUNG MAN, and INEXCUSABLE, which was a National Book Award finalist and the recipient of six starred reviews. He is also the author of FREEWILL, GOLD DUST, ICEMAN, GYPSY DAVY, and SHADOWBOXER, all ALA Best Books for Young Adults; EXTREME ELVIN WHITECHURCH, and ALL THE OLD HAUNTS.

He holds an M.A. from the writing program at Emerson College. He mentors aspiring writers and continues to work on new literary projects. He lives in Boston and in Scotland.

Reviews

[Manda · Rating 2 out of 5]

The only reason I knew of this book was because in 8th grade our private school library was given a bunch of advanced copies of books that we were supposed to read and search for mistakes in spelling, grammar, etc. and this was the book that I was given and never asked to return. Our assignment fell to the wayside, and I have carried this book with me ever since. I'm currently working at purging stuff from my house, but thought I would give this read a chance being that I've carried it with me for nearly 20 years.
I wouldn't say that this book was necessarily a waste of my time, but I felt like the book struggled to keep to the story at hand. There were characters introduced, but not really... definitely not completely developed, and it was a struggle to care about the people who kept darting in and out of the lives of the three characters. It just felt like a book about random stuff happening to three people. The timeline was hard to follow, the relationships were just odd, and I don't really see the point of the novel.
What kept me reading was the fact that there were some pieces that were a bit compelling. I wanted them to go somewhere, but they just never did. I liked that the author tried to integrate poetry into the novel, but I think that the poetry was weak... including the poems written by Oakley, not just the spur of the moment wonders that Pauly would attempt.
To me, this book reads as an unfinished idea and in that respect it was very disappointing.

[Anne-Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

First 3/4 of the book was pretty difficult to read -- the writing didn't flow very smoothly. I enjoyed how everything tied together in the end, but it left me hanging and open to interpret the ending in various ways. I'm sure this would be a great book for group discussion, even though I wasn't enthralled in it. It was interesting enough for me to finish reading, and the last half was much better than the first.

[Des · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book and it breaks my heart to learn it's out of print. This was another one of those books where it just hit me and stuck, and I found myself growing attached to the characters, especially Oakley, and loving every minute of it.

[Kbryna · Rating 3 out of 5]

at least three stars. i may not have been in the right mood when I read this because I have a very strong feeling of HUNH? about it. this is the second book by Chris Lynch that I've read, though, and I intend to keep reading - so he's obviously doing something right.

[Shoyab Akand · Rating 4 out of 5]

Contents: Cocked & locked -- Love me don't -- Horse -- Just talkin' -- Bibliophilia -- Place & time -- A smile relieves a heart that grieves -- Will -- Watch -- White rabbit -- In spite of myself -- Cafe society -- Everyone's turned out -- Sacreds -- Muck

[MJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was in the "please take me home" pile of books at school so I picked it up. A nice little story about friendship and growing up. For young adult readers.