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Reality Check

Peter Abrahams

3.59 · Rating details · 2,147 Ratings · 386 Reviews

QB of the varsity football team. Passing grades in all his classes. Dating the hottest--and smartest--girl at school. Summer job paying more than minimum wage. Things in Cody's world seem to be going pretty well. Until, that is, his girlfriend, Clea, is sent off to boarding school across the country, and a torn ACL ends his high school football career. But bad things come ...more

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Hardcover, 336 pages

Published April 28th 2009 by HarperTeen (first published January 1st 2009)

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Sep 29, 2016 Ben Schneider rated it really liked it

Abrahams has yet to disappoint. A Master of his craft. A pleasure to read.

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Jan 03, 2011 Maranda rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: teenagers

Cody is a Sixteen year old boy who only loves football and his wonderful girlfriend, Clea. Cody does not like school what so ever, he just tries to have his grades high enough so that he can keep playing football and hopefully get a football scholarship. All of his dreams get ruined quite quickly though.
Cody lives with his father, who is not the wealthiest; more like on the other side of the spectrum. Clea, his girlfriend, on the other hand is extremely wealthy. Clea’s father does not approve o Cody is a Sixteen year old boy who only loves football and his wonderful girlfriend, Clea. Cody does not like school what so ever, he just tries to have his grades high enough so that he can keep playing football and hopefully get a football scholarship. All of his dreams get ruined quite quickly though.
Cody lives with his father, who is not the wealthiest; more like on the other side of the spectrum. Clea, his girlfriend, on the other hand is extremely wealthy. Clea’s father does not approve of Cody’s and Clea’s relationship at all, although Cody is respectable and kind to Clea and her family. Since her father does not approve of their relationship he ships her off to Hong Kong for the summer to go live with her uncle, where they still stay in contact through e-mail and every now and again a phone call. When Clea returns he father tells her she will be going to school in Vermont, away from Cody. Cody’s father makes a good point to Cody when Cody tells his father that Clea is moving to Vermont to go to school on the east side. He tells Cody that he should let Clea go and let her be on her own.
On the day Clea moves Cody listens to his father and breaks up with her. Now the only thing he has left is football. But that changes quite quickly, since he tares his ACL because of a dirty tackle on the opposing team. What he had is now gone so he gives up on ever coming back to the team and getting scouted by colleges, he drops out of school, and starts to work full-time.
One day Cody limps into a store to find a newspaper says “local girl has gone miss- Clea Weston.” The authorities are not finding any leads either. Since Cody is still madly in love with Clea, although he broke up with her, he goes to Vermont to go look and find Clea. Since she is the love of his life he is more than determined to find her dead or alive, much more rather alive than dead. Cody is persistent and he learns throughout the book that he is much more capable than he had given himself credit for.
While Cody goes to Vermont most people finds him rather suspicious. He is from Colorado and he drives to Vermont to go look for this girl, which he claims he does not know anything about. Why would someone from a different state come and try and help find a random girl? Therefore he makes himself the center of attention in a way. The Cops think it is weird that a boy from her old town is here to come and help search for her and that he searches at all hours in the day. At night, during the day, you name it he wishes he could be out there looking for Clea.
Cody meets some of the kids that Clea had gone to school with and the boy Clea had been “seeing.” All the kids have nothing negative to say about Clea, they all say she is nice and everything; which she is according to Cody. The boy Clea had been “seeing” his raging over this he is the most upset out of everyone, well that you can see. He feels like no one is trying hard enough to find her. Which Cody finds very suspicious because he didn’t know Clea long enough to be madly in love with her. This is where Cody starts to get his lead on the big mystery.
The mystery of this book is very well developed and it makes you want to keep reading to see what Cody finds out throughout the book. Throughout the book you get a little frustrated with some of Codys decisions, because I know I did. I just wanted to yell through the book at some points in the book! I think mostly teens with be into this than adults. I feel teens could relate to this novel because some teens do not want to let there first love go, just like Cody. I feel it could also relate to adults too, but not as well. The way that it relates to adults is that if the person they love went away on a trip and they went missing I believe that they would be where they went missing trying to find them. If it is someone that you love, of course you would be looking for them no matter what.
Reality Check by Peter Abrahams is of course a mystery novel. But as well, it is about love and believing in your self. Throughout this book Cody gets stronger and stronger, and realizes that he just needs to believe in himself to find Clea. I think this book is sweet because Clea is Cody’s first love that he refused to let go of. He drives hundreds of miles through severe winter weather to go find the love of his life. Cody second guesses himself quite a bit throughout this book, which I don’t understand why. He always seemed to be right the first time around but like a normal human has to always second guess yourself. If you are looking for a page turner, definitely read Reality Check by Peter Abrahams; it is a twisty and an exciting read.
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Aug 11, 2011 Arminzerella rated it liked it

Shelves: 2012-abe-lincoln-nominees, suspense-thriller, mystery, gambling, teenagers, teen-sleuths, horses, friendship, relationships, relationship-problems

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Cody and Clea are dating. They’re both going to be juniors in high school in their small town in Colorado, but they come from very different worlds. Clea is wealthy and Cody comes from a single-parent family (he and his dad live in a tiny apartment over a storefront); Clea is smart and Cody, well, let’s just say he could apply himself more to his academics; Clea is going places, and Cody isn’t going to go anywhere if he doesn’t get that football scholarship. When Clea’s father decides to send he ...more

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Jun 21, 2010 Becky rated it really liked it

Shelves: ya-suspense

I could not put this one down. I really felt a connection to Cody, the main character. He has really only two things going for him - he used to be a great high school football player until he injured his knee and then dropped out of school, and he used to date the richest, most intelligent girl in town, until her dad sends her to an exclusive prep school in Vermont. When Clea, the girl, disappears, Cody gets in his car and drives from Colorado to Vermont, hoping to find her himself.
I loved how ...more

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May 19, 2009 Reianna Cambridge rated it did not like it

The story was alright but there were so many things that I really disliked about the book. I would not let my teen read this book. There was underage drinking, gambling, pre-marital sex, tons of swearing, which are all topics and ideas I don't want to be putting into my teen's head.

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Mar 20, 2011 Erin rated it liked it

Shelves: big-romance, mystery, no-sleep-tonight

I don't have any misconceptions about the quality of this book. I've given better books less than three stars, but for whatever reason, I found this to be a very pleasant read at just the right time.

What's it about? The main plot doesn't get going until fairly late in the game, and I don't want to give it away. So I'll kind of dance around it. Cody is a star football player, not exactly an intellectual but sharp in his own way. His girlfriend, Clea, is a super-student whose intelligence is much ...more

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Sep 05, 2009 Kate Coombs rated it really liked it

Cody is a football star and is dating a rich girl in a small town in Colorado. Then his life goes down the tubes: Clea's father sends her to a private school in Vermont to keep her away from this kid from the wrong side of the tracks, and Cody suffers an injury that keeps him from playing football. Cody drops out of school to work at a dead-end job. Figuring he really is a loser, he avoids Clea's efforts to get in touch.

Then the news comes out: Clea has gone missing. Pretty soon Cody heads east ...more

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Oct 12, 2011 Chelcee rated it really liked it

Cody is the star football player for his high school team. His grades on the other hand barely get him by. Cody lives with his father on the poorer side of town and his mother died when he was a child. Clea his ultra smart girlfriend has gotten straight A's all through school. She lives in a mansion and her dad is rich and loves to ride her horse Bud. When she has to tell her father she got a B, the life she is used to living changes.
When Clea tells her father he sends her to live in Tokyo for ...more

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Sep 08, 2011 Meghan Rau rated it really liked it

Cody is the quarterback of his school's football team.He has a girlfriend, Clea. Clea is sent to a prep school out east to better prepare her for Ivy League colleges, and there is where she disappears.This book is really getting interesting. I want to check out the movie as well. I can't wait to find out exactly what happens to Clea and why.......Cody and Clea exchange emails and a phone call now and then. Clea was sent to live with her uncle in Hong Kong for the summer.When Clea returns, more b Cody is the quarterback of his school's football team.He has a girlfriend, Clea. Clea is sent to a prep school out east to better prepare her for Ivy League colleges, and there is where she disappears.This book is really getting interesting. I want to check out the movie as well. I can't wait to find out exactly what happens to Clea and why.......Cody and Clea exchange emails and a phone call now and then. Clea was sent to live with her uncle in Hong Kong for the summer.When Clea returns, more bad news awaits.When Clea gets home from Hong Kong, she has to inform Cody she is going to attend a private boarding school in Vermont.After giving Clea a pair of earings and telling her he loves her, he breaks up with her.He feels this is the best thing to do. He tells Clea he doesn't love her and never did. Clea slaps Cody's face and storms off.Cody plays in a huge football game and ends of with a torn ACL.He is done for the rest of the season.Cody's dad knows if he doesn't play the scouts won't notice him.His father wants a second opinion on Cody's knee.Cody ends up having to have surgery.The operation went fine and now he must work out to regain his strength.Clea hears about Cody's knee. She gives him a call.The call doesn't go very well.Cody decided to drop out of school and work full time.After work he was getting a sandwhich and noticed on the cover of the newspaper "Local girl missing"with Clea's picture.The article read she was horseback riding on wooded trails. The horse came back without her.Cody tried to call Clea's cell, but kept getting her voice mail.He left a message for her to call as soon as she got the message.Cody decides to leave town and go look for Clea on his own.When Cody gets to Vermont, he learns the search had been called off.There had been too much snow fall to be able to look for Clea.Cody takes a job at the school so he will be able to stay in town and search on his own.When Cody got into town, he had a few problems with the local police. Sergeant Orton started accusing Cody. Told Cody he could be the one that made Clea disappear.The Sergeant knew they had broken up.Started saying Cody could have hurt her.Before Cody could think, he hit the Sergeant in the mouth.The Sergeant grabbed his gun and Cody started to run.The Sergeant fired twice before Cody stopped.Nice twist how the Sergeant is going to use Cody to help find out what happened to Clea.Cody fit right it. He met someone who knows Clea and began to hang out with her and some of her friends.Cody spent time with Clea's horse Bud. He thought maybe that might help with a clue or something.Cody went to visit Bud and found blood on him.It looks like someone shot the horse.Cody was out walking in the snow and went into the warming hut for some heat.He tried to call Clea's cell phone again and heard it ring inside the hut.He guessed at her pin number and got into the phone.He scrolled through the pictures and might have found a clue.A picture of a wrist with what looks like a shark tattoo.This book is getting really good. I can't put it down.Just when Cody is on the trail to find out what has happened to Clea,he is run out of town.Special agent Brand pulls Cody over and makes him tell everything. The reason why he is in town, where he came from and how Sergeant Orton has been using him as a mole.Special agent Brand tells Cody he is going to lead him out of town for his own saftey.Cody is confused and follows the agent.Cody waits until the agent is out of sight and returns back to town.Cody had to see Sergeant Orton. He had to tell him he figuered out what happened to Clea.Cody told the Sargeant everything he knew. The Sergeant drove Cody out to an abandoned house.To Cody's surprise, the Sergeant was in on it.Cody was locked in a room near Clea.He couldn't believe what was happening.I don't want to say the end of the story in case someone wants to read this book,but wow!! Didn't see the end coming and it was worth the read. ...more

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Sep 13, 2011 02cadyc added it

Reality Check
Cady Crowell

I loved this book because it kept me wanting to keep turning the page and read more to find out where Clea was and what happened to her. The author made her disappearance like real life by having her riding her horse in the forest and never coming back to the barn with her horse. The best part that made me feel that there are some great guys out there and it was nice that Cody went all the way to Vermont from Colorado to find out what happened to Clea. That really shows Reality Check
Cady Crowell

I loved this book because it kept me wanting to keep turning the page and read more to find out where Clea was and what happened to her. The author made her disappearance like real life by having her riding her horse in the forest and never coming back to the barn with her horse. The best part that made me feel that there are some great guys out there and it was nice that Cody went all the way to Vermont from Colorado to find out what happened to Clea. That really shows how much he cares about her.
Something that I didn't like about this book was that Cody got bad grades, but he was with a smart girl. I didn't understand why a girl like her would be with a kid like him. I think it was why they fit him as being a quarterback on the football team to be with her. Also, it seemed like the story drug on cause i just wanted to know what happened to Clea and you don't find out until the very end.
I would read more books by this author if they were suspenseful and thrilling like this book was. I like to be attached to the book so it makes me not want to put it down and keep reading to find out what happens.
The best part that made me feel that there are some great guys out there and it was nice that Cody went all the way to Vermont from Colorado to find out what happened to Clea. That really shows how much he cares about her. Throughout the book I was worried and scared about what happened to Clea. I didn't want her to be found in the snow dead or been kidnapped and killed. I wanted her to be safe as if she just chose to go away and be alone to have time to think to herself.
One big lesson that I learned from this book is that if you care about someone and you know you could go a day without them, then you should hold on to them and keep them in your life even if there are miles apart from you. If something should ever happen to them you should be willing to help them out whatever the cause is. Great friends will always be with you even in your worse times.
...more

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Feb 06, 2017 Wyatt rated it really liked it

Personnel response: I did not like Reality Check as much as I thought I was going to like the book. The book said a suspense novel, and in my opinion,I did not think there was that much suspense or horror in the book. Although the character plotting in Reality Check was very outgoing, and the characters matched the book quite well. All in all I would not like to read this book again only because I never really thought the suspense was enough.

Plot: Ever since kindergarten Cody has gotten straight ...more

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Oct 16, 2009 Mitchel Broussard rated it liked it

Shelves: mystery, thriller-suspense, summer-2010, ya-fiction

This felt sort of a step down from Abraham's Echo Falls mysteries. Cody was an okay main character, but had none of the charm and wit of Ingrid from the Falls trilogy. And the most important thing about a mystery novel, the, you know, mystery, was way to simple.

Early on its established that Cody is from the poor side of town (he lives over a bar and his dad is a heavy drinker). But Clea, his girlfriend, lives in a mansion, has acres of farmland, and her own purebred horse. So when Clea leav ...more

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Oct 25, 2016 Kolden Baehman added it

Personal Response:
I really enjoyed this book. Throughout the whole book, I was wondering what happened to Clea. I thought that Clea was lost in the woods, but as I started to read I was starting to think that she was kidnapped.

Plot Summary:
Cody and Clea get out of school for the summer and Clea is sent to live with her uncle in Hong Kong. To keep himself busy, Cody worked and lifted for football all summer. Clea came back from Hong Kong and told Cody that she was being forced to go to Dover Acad ...more

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Jul 24, 2009 Red rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-in-2009

I really enjoy Abrahams' YA mysteries. Reality Check is not part of the Echo Falls series. Cody, our protagonist is a 16 year old boy, from lower-middle class small town Colorado. His girlfriend, Clea, is from a rich mining family. Her dad does not approve of Cody and when Dad catches the two of them in her room, he sends Clea off to a Vermont boarding school. When poor student and quarterback Cody, has a season-ending knee injury in the first football game of the season, he ends up dropping out ...more

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Oct 24, 2013 Tanner Shirghio added it

Reality Check
Peter Abrahams
This book has 2 main characters named Cody (the football star),and Clea (his girlfriend). Cody and Clea were hanging out at Clea's house, not thinking of when her dad was gonna come home and see he was there. But when Cody heard her dad pulling in the driveway, it was to late to get out of there. So Clea's dad thought for disobeying his rules, she is going to go live with his brother in Hong Kong for the summer. When Clea gets to Hong Kong, her and Cody still talk...bu ...more

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Jun 21, 2011 John rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: coming-of-age, conspiracy, crime, mystery, thriller, ya-fiction

Cody Laredo has a near perfect life. He is a football star, his girlfriend is the beautiful daughter of the richest man in town, and he looks to cruise through his next year of high school on minimal effort. Then he injures his knee, his girlfriend moves away, and he drops out of school. Apathetic and depressed, he learns of his girlfriend's disappearance on the other side of the country. He's got nothing to lose, so he leaves town to help in the search for her. What he finds in New England, doe ...more

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May 04, 2012 Beth rated it really liked it

Nice plot twists! Engaging easy to read YA Mystery.

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Jun 07, 2011 Sarah Senft rated it it was amazing

I LOVED this book!!! It was soo good!!!! This is my all time favorite book!! I think everybody should read it!!

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May 05, 2015 Zoey rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: own

Ending was a bit rushed, but I fucking love the way Peter Abrahams writes.

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Dec 31, 2016 Sage Thoughts added it

Shelves: dnf

Content Rating and Review

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Feb 12, 2018 Bryan Valleau rated it it was amazing

The book Reality Check by Peter Abrahams is about a boy named Cody who is on the top of the world, he is the star quarterback on the varsity football team and he is dating the most pretty and smart girl in school, Clea Weston. Everything was going great, but one day Clea, told him that she would be going to a boarding school in Vermont. Then to make things worse he toar his ACL that ended his high school football career. While Clea is gone word spreads that she went missing in Vermont. When Cody ...more

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May 23, 2018 Jessie rated it it was amazing

Peter Abrahams has tackled writing a drama-filled mystery when he wrote Reality Check. I like this book because I believe that this book is the perfect suspense story that anyone would love to read. I would recommend Reality Check to anybody who loves a solid mystery. I would definitely read this book again, due to its many plot twists. This book starts off with a young boy, Cody Laredo, and another young teenager, Clea Weston. These two have had two very different upbringings. Clea Weston is we ...more

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Feb 15, 2018 Tyler Twomey rated it really liked it

I would recommend this book to any kid from middle school on, it is an easy read and keeps you interested throughout the whole book. The book starts off introducing the highschool football star, Cody. He may be amazing at football but he's not so great in school, unlike his girlfriend Clea, who is the smartest, richest, and most beautiful girl in town. They have been dating for awhile now but one day when Cody is at Clea's house without her parents there her dad comes home unexpectedly, and as y ...more

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Feb 09, 2018 Courtney Jacobs rated it really liked it

Reality Check is a fiction story about a star football player, Cody who is dating the most perfect girl in school, Clea. Cleas uptight father makes her leave to go to a private school to keep her on track which is cody's worst nightmare. When Cody didn't think anything could get worse, his life falls apart. Clea goes missing. Cody does everything he can to find the girl of his dreams even as some are trying to blame him.

As a 16 year old junior in high school, I would definitely say this is a bo ...more

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Jan 31, 2018 Hunter added it

Reality Check can really get someones heart beating. Cody, the main character faces many challenges during his high school career. He was everything most high school jocks would want to be. Captain and quarterback of varsity football, has the best girlfriend (Clea) and overall just a well known guy around school. But then life hits him hard, his girlfriend ends up going to Hong Kong due to her Dads brother being an investment banker over in Hong Kong. She leaves for a while. Clea and Cody stay i ...more

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Jan 30, 2018 Isaac Stuart rated it really liked it

The book I will be reviewing today is a book called reality check. This is a nonfiction book and is not in a series so as of now it is the only one of that tells a story like this.As of reading this I am a junior in high school at about a high school reading level and overall this book was not that hard to follow. I recommend this book to anybody overall if you have the time I suggest to give it a read. Although if you are a slower reader like I am give yourself some time. It was not a fast read ...more

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Jan 26, 2018 Daniyal Qureshi rated it really liked it

Reality Check is about Cody: a sophomore in High school whose life couldn’t get better. QB for the varsity football team, passing in all his classes, working a summer job with great pay and dating the hottest and smartest girl in school. However, all good things come to an end when a torn ACL ruins his football career in High school and his girlfriend is off to a boarding school. But things get worse when he learns his now ex-girlfriend is missing after reading a newspaper heading: “Local Girl M ...more

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Jan 26, 2018 Ishaan Singh is currently reading it

By: Ishaan Singh
Reality Check
Grade: 11

Synopsis:
Cody Laredo is finishing his sophomore year in high school Everything is going right for him he is the star quarterback on the varsity quarterback team he's keeping up with his grades and he has a girlfriend named Clea. Summer is approaching and everything seems to be well until a few weeks into summer his girlfriend tells him she's leaving for a boarding school. As that wasn't enough for Cody to take at once a few days after Clea left she goes miss ...more

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Mar 03, 2015 James Luttrull rated it it was amazing

Reality Check Book Review

I am writing this book review for Ms. Orona’s 2nd period English IV class. The title of the book I read is was Reality Check, written by Peter Abrahams. There are 330 pages in the book, and was published by HarperCollins. There are only two reasons on why I chose to read Reality Check. The first reason is that I like sporty type of books and it was football related. The other reason is not necessarily the book being required to read, but I was required to read a book fo Reality Check Book Review

I am writing this book review for Ms. Orona’s 2nd period English IV class. The title of the book I read is was Reality Check, written by Peter Abrahams. There are 330 pages in the book, and was published by HarperCollins. There are only two reasons on why I chose to read Reality Check. The first reason is that I like sporty type of books and it was football related. The other reason is not necessarily the book being required to read, but I was required to read a book for this grading cycle.
There are two Main Characters in the novel. The first main character is Cody Laredo. He is the quarterback of the Varsity football team at County high. Cody’s life seemed to be perfect, end of sophomore year got an over minimum wage summer job, girlfriend, and the knowledge of the fact that passed all of his classes for the year. The other main character is Clea Weston. She is Cody Laredo’s girlfriend in the beginning of the book and seemed to have a perfect life as well with the worst thing on her mind was the fear of her father’s potential reaction once he found out her B in calc.
The first supporting character in the book which has the smallest role of the five characters is Simon. Simon was just friends with Clea’s Vermont boyfriend who by just telling Cody that the Vermont boyfriend asked him for ten grand and that Simon said he didn’t have that kind of money. The next character is the person who was in a relationship with Clea while in Vermont. Towens met Clea through horseback riding and was found out to be in severe debt and broke after just the year before, he wasn’t in debt and was rich. The next character is Agent Brand and he eventually partially saves Cody and Clea. Sergeant Orton is a confusing character until the end of the book. Hiding his severe debt, Orton was a cop for the little town in Vermont. The last character happens to be the antagonist of the book. Big Len owned a bar that everyone went to and was the person that both Towens and Orton owed a lot of money to.
Reality Check is a mystery. The book took place in Colorado, Vermont, and partially in Hong Kong. The book took place in the present. There are two important building in this book. The first being Big Len’s bar and the other is an abandoned building in the fields. The book does have some violence and a lot of suspense. In the beginning of the book, Cody was trying to go pro in the NFL as a quarterback. After a torn ACL, breaking up with Clea because not wanting a long distance relationship, and working a dead end job, he dropped out of high school. One day in the papers Clea has gone missing so now Cody still in love with Clea, goes to Vermont to solve the case and rescue Clea but is put in danger after Orton revealed that he works for Len due to significant debt by driving Cody to the abandoned building where Len was when Cody figured out everything even Len kidnapping Clea. Len then knocked out Cody and put him in a separate room then Clea, but when Cody became conscious again he was able to hear Clea and she was able to hear him. They worked together to get to the front door of the abandoned building and you will have to read to find out the rest.

Reality check is a very good book. The book keeps you wanting to read until you simply can’t. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a book that will keep them interested. The book is very suspenseful and involves football and paying attention to every little detail. Reality Check is definitely a book I would read again
...more

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May 12, 2013 Elizabeth rated it did not like it

Shelves: mystery

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Elizabeth Jose
Abrahams, P. (2009). Reality check. New York: HarperTeen.
Genre: Mystery
Format: Print
Selection Process: School Library Journal

Cody is a 16-year-old high school student who plays quarterback on the school’s football team. His girlfriend Clea, is the only daughter of Little Bend’s richest family. Everything seems to be going so well for them until Clea’s father catches them together and sends her away, first to a relative’s house in Hong Kong for a short period, and then off to boardi Elizabeth Jose
Abrahams, P. (2009). Reality check. New York: HarperTeen.
Genre: Mystery
Format: Print
Selection Process: School Library Journal

Cody is a 16-year-old high school student who plays quarterback on the school’s football team. His girlfriend Clea, is the only daughter of Little Bend’s richest family. Everything seems to be going so well for them until Clea’s father catches them together and sends her away, first to a relative’s house in Hong Kong for a short period, and then off to boarding school in Vermont.

Cody’s father, an alcoholic, berates him, making him feel that he is good for nothing, and tells him that Clea is out of his league. As a result of this, Cody breaks off his relationship with her before she leaves, and subsequently tears a ligament in his knee during a game, knocking him out for the season. This injury, and Clea’s absence, brings him down emotionally, and he eventually decides to drop out of school and starts working at a lumber yard.

There is a lull in the story until one day, Cody sees a missing person flyer with Clea’s face on it. She has gone missing, and a search is underway. Cody, who feels helpless and wants to do something, sets out for Vermont to aid in the search, but as a stranger. He starts by observing all the main individuals in the search, along with some of Clea’s classmates, and begins searching for clues.

Eventually, he finds some, and pieces the puzzle together (or so he thinks) to identify possible suspects. What he uncovers is a betting scandal with many victims who are in over their heads and being blackmailed by the bookie. However, Cody does not realize that the perpetrator who has kidnapped Clea is in cahoots with Sergeant Orton who is supposed to be helping him.

Luckily, a special agent, Phil Brand, from the Attorney General’s office has already been investigating the case and learns of possible suspects before things start to go awry. Agent Brand comes to the rescue of Cody, who has also been kidnapped and is hid away with Clea. The story ends happily as they are returned safely to their home state, and the guilty parties are arrested and put away.

Abrahams, a bestselling author, fails to impress with this mystery novel that throws facts around in an incoherent manner. He drags the story along for much of the book, and Clea’s disappearance only comes to light about 1/3 of the way through the story, without any suspense or much of a lead-in. Once the “mystery” in is place, we are introduced to possible suspects, but it is not even until the end of the second-to-last chapter that Cody figures out he is being tricked by Sergeant Orton, and that too, only after a gun is drawn. Abrahams fails to create a smart, mystery-solving main character for the story, and even neglects to portray him with any positive attributes, despite his less-than-stellar IQ. Unfortunately, this book is poorly crafted with not enough of a lead-in to the mystery, and would not be a good fit for any teen looking for something to keep them guessing at the edge of their seats.

Not recommended. ...more

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Do you think the book Reality check had a good ending??	3	12	Apr 13, 2012 07:47AM

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About Peter Abrahams

Peter Abrahams

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Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Peter Abrahams is the author of numerous novels, including End of Story, Oblivion, and Lights Out, which was nominated for an Edgar best novel award. He also writes the best-selling Echo Falls series for younger readers. He lives on Cape Cod.

Peter Abrahams is also writing under the pseudonym Spencer Quinn (Chet ...more

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