Buried

by Robin Merrow MacCready

Winner of the Edgar Award for Best Young Adult Novel.

When her alcoholic mother disappears, Claudine, who has put her own dreams on hold to care for her, must confront a dark truth that is buried in a shallow grave behind the family's trailer, in a psychological thriller that explores the dangers of codependency.

Genres: Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller, Mental Illness, Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Contemporary

208 pages, Hardcover

First published September 21, 2006

Reviews

[Kerri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. Slow lead in to a powerful shocking ending. I began to recognize the subtle clues the author was leaving, but I bet our students wouldn't. OCD is prevalent in the story, but not what is focused on the most. I like the way the author made a point about several issues that might affect teens without beating me over the head with it. I think teenagers will appreciate the same thing.

Nice quote that is worth a good discussion when the book is over, "I think about second chances and how everyone has them. They come right after a mistake, and before making another choice, but you have to feel your feelings first." I like that the main character understands that making a mistake is directly related to making a choice.

Good theme. Good characters. Good book.

[Barbara Gordon · Rating 3 out of 5]

The art design for this is quite effective. The cover shows an array of post-it notes in different colours, with tasks written on them, some ordinary (call Liz, get more soda) others more unsettling (vacuum everything, eat breakfast, give rug stains another try) and a small gap where the title and a girl's eye are visible. Each chapter heading has a list of tasks, at first on torn notebook pages, then on post-its, more and more tasks each time.

I'm a bit of a sucker for kids-coping stories, whether the positive Boxcar Children style, or the darker Tillerman type. This is definitely the Tillerman end of the spectrum, though there are hints that the ending will be darker than it turns out to be.
Claude is the classic Good Kid and enabler for her mother, and the frustrated affection between them is well-portrayed, as is the slipping of her coping mechanisms as the story goes on. It didn't grip me to the extent that Homecoming or A Solitary Blue did, but it was a quick and engaging read.

[Michelle Lane · Rating 5 out of 5]

What happens when all semblance of a normal life quickly slips away? MacCready tests the question in this story of a young girl who suddenly finds herself in a situation that spirals out of control. A fascinating look at how tragedy can affect us all in different ways. Well done!

[Monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I used to have this as a kid and reread it a lot. Back then I thought it was really weird and I didn't know anything about OCD or PTSD. Now, reflecting back, it is a rather intense and harrowing story about a girl who struggles to cope under the mountain of responsibility put onto her. I would be interested in reading it again just to see if any of my opinion changes.

[Michelle Kammeraad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Claude is a teenage girl who is forced to deal with situations that require her to be mature well beyond her years. Her mother is an alcoholic who has recently fallen off the wagon again. As Claude struggles to deal with her mother's relapse and subsequent disappearance, she slips into the grips of obsessive compulsive disorder and loses control of her own life.

Buried brings up many controversial issues that teens face. It provides an honest portrait of alcoholics and the havoc they wreak on the people in their lives. It also shows an example of how a teen may deal with troublesome times, and how easy it may be to lose one's grip on reality.

Claude is relatable in her frustration with her mother and her desire to be independent and have control over her life. Because she feels that she is at the mercy of her mother's disease, Claude tries to take control in unhealthy ways, thereby developing her own internal problems. Many teens can relate to this desire for independence and the realization that they cannot, in fact, do everything on their own. Buried allows teens to have a view of a controversial issue that they may be experiencing in their own lives, or that they may see in the lives of their peers.

VOYA Codes: 4Q, 4P, S

[Morgan · Rating 1 out of 5]

For her whole life, Claudine has had to clean up the messes caused by her mother’s alcoholism. Things had finally gotten better, but when her mom relapses and disappears again, Claudine vows to put their lives back in order through careful planning and routine. But to-do lists can’t stop Claudine’s life from spinning out of control as she slowly unearths the deeply buried secrets of her past. 15+.

*I gave this book one star because 1)it gave me the heebie jeebies (super creepy factor of 10)and 2)was frustrating to me as an educator because the teachers did nothing to help the protagonist. However, it did have a good message and shined light upon problems that many teens face. If you like the YA problem novel genre, then you'll probably like this book.

[Ilsa Bick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, so having looked at one Edgar nominee, I went back and re-read this Edgar winner. I remember the first time I read this story about a high school senior’s pretty creepy disintegration after her alcoholic mother disappears, and I feel the same way now as I did then: like, shoot, why didn’t I think of that? (Okay, I used stronger language.) I had the ugly green envies for a week. This is a fabulously well-done psychological mystery that manages to be both highly believable and genuinely weird–because, really, self-deception is what this book is all about. As a shrink, I’ve heard and seen some pretty out-there stuff, and this rang true for me throughout. A highly satisfying read that deserved its award. Give it a shot.

[B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Edgar Y award from a few years ago. Told from the view of a teenager whose alcholic mother has disappeared and left the trailer they live in in the usual drunken mess. It becomes compelling as we start to see that Claudine, although seemingly functioning on her own okay, is not quite right...her incessant cleaning, the need to use post it notes to organize her life, her lack of attention at school and the letters to her mother she writes but does not send, (revealing what her young life has been like), all show the psychological damage she has had to cope with. Riveting. Some cursing for those people that are offended by that.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

A stunningly real juvenile/young adult novel about a teenager struggling with her mom's alcoholism and disappearance. Her own devolving mental health and obsessive behaviors are completely realistic and expressive. The only unrealistic part of the book was the ending, which I won't spoil for you, but it seems that things would really not end up that way in the real world. Maybe the author really wanted to end on a hopeful note?
Anyway, this is recommended for youngsters struggling with an alcoholic parent, teens who want to understand what a friend in that situation is going through, and adults who'd like more insight into the mind of a teen child of an alcoholic.

[Karla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Claudine is used to her mother taking off on alcoholic binges, but this one, after a six month period of sobriety, hits her especially hard. She uses a variety of obsessive-compulsive behaviors to control her out-of-control life, cleaning, showering, counting, organizing duties with hundreds of post-it notes. She lies to friends and teachers, telling them her mother is in rehab. And she begins writing letters to her absent mother. But how long can she bury her feelings and keep up the lie? A fast gripping mystery for teens with a surprise ending.

[Elizabeth · Rating 1 out of 5]

7-year-old Claudine must come to grips with her alcoholic mother's latest abandonment. This book is really awful; I don't know why I even finished it, except that sometimes you just want to see how something will *end*. The main character has OCD, but she also somehow forgets to do things like shower or do her homework. Which doesn't seem right to me. Also, the plot twist at the end of the book was really too much. Skip it.

[Tosha · Rating 5 out of 5]

When reading buried i could not help but smile because by the second page i knew it was going to be awesome. You can read this book over and over and you will still be in shock of how a teenage girl can hide such a secret. It will make you cry and ponder for a long time, in a good way:)
I recommend this book to everyone

[McCaid Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was not what I thought it would be. Instead of a fast-paced, suspenseful thriller, I got a quietly unsettling, dark, mature, and character-driven story. This novel's 198 pages were full of tough issues and dark truths. For being such a short book, it definitely packed a punch!
I think what made this book so enjoyable was its heavy dose of foreshadowing and red herrings. A lot of things are meant to throw you off track and trick you. If you can manage to realize what is the truth and what is not, you will have no trouble figuring out the "mystery".
One thing that makes this book stand out among the countless other thrillers out there, is how weird it managed to become. I'm not lying to you when I tell you that as the book continued, it just got weirder and weirder. Where I once admired the main character, later I wondered if she had somehow snapped and gone insane. A lot of what she said and did just didn't add up and I wondered what had happened to the character I thought I knew in the beginning.
But, in truth, her confusing and strange actions really helped to add to the mystery and suspense, building up to the shocking ending.
For 85 percent of the book, nothing much happens. But the thing that made it so good was how unsettling and twisted it came across, making me wonder what the real truth was. Even though it wasn't very eventful for over half the novel, there was a sinister truth lurking beneath the surface the entire time, making you turn the pages to find out just what it was. And boy, let me tell you, that ending was all I wanted it to be. Was it predictable? Not necessarily. If you can sort through all the truths and the lies, you could have this solved within the first 50 pages. But seeing how it would all unfold would make it all the more enjoyable.
All in all, I felt like this was a very well-written thriller. I enjoyed the twists and hidden messages, especially the heart-wrenching emotion. A lot may not happen and it may seem repetitive at times, but that's all a brilliant build-up of what's to come.
If you're looking for a dark, unsettling, and emotional read, then I highly recommend this.

[Adam Kovynia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked out this book from a little library book exchange but didn't know it was a young adult type of book at first. The description interested me and I got through it in a few days. It's a very good book and it takes place in Maine by the ocean. it deals with a couple of high school senior friends. it will take you back to those days if you're older adult reading the book and it's interesting to read about issues like OCD behavior of the main character without it being directly talked about but instead you just notice the behavior in the things she does. I wonder about how a person's life would change if they were able to overcome the OCD and how much time and energy they would free up in their life. also the relationship between the two best friends is interesting since one friend's family has money and a nicer house but the main character is poor, however, a smart student and helps out her friend in school a lot. maybe as a result they parents of the friend help out the main character Claudine by buying her some necessities and welcoming her into the house. alcoholism and how it affects people is also probably especially interesting for a reader if they can relate to a situation like this if they have a parent like the main character's mother. I definitely recommend the book and I'm interested in checking out the author's other book sometime maybe.

[Kitty Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an ... odd book. Claudine, the protagonist, is the perfectionist, slightly compulsive daughter of an alcoholic. When her mother relapses again, she finds herself trying to make her life perfect and starts to unravel at the seams.

The bulk of this book is solid: Claudine is well-written as someone who seeks control over her life by organizing and cleaning it, and her mother flipping between being a loving mother and almost cruelly indifferent is well done.

However, the ending just faltered. Readers are aware the whole time that Claudine is not quite telling the truth - she tells all of her friends that her mother is in rehab - and when the reveal comes, it turns out that Claudine left her mother in a rage, and her mother died from complications from a head wound. Claudine buried her body in the backyard and went into a sharp denial over it because she felt guilty for leaving her mother. Yikes.

It's a little dramatic, but still within the realm of I'm-okay-halting-my-disbelief-for-this, except what tipped me over the edge was at the end, when the secret is revealed, everyone just acts... normal. I'm not saying Claudine should be punished - she clearly was going through some stuff - but ... really? No one is just the slightest bit cautious and weirded out over a girl who buried her mother in the backyard and didn't tell anybody?. Even if she was going through major denial, I think I'd have a few questions.

All in all, okay, but with a kind of weird ending.

[Sierra Mahaffey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book originally over 10 years ago. I couldn’t remember the name, but I remembered the sticky notes and the spiraling of Claudine’s perception of reality. After a lot of searching, I finally found a cover of this book and it all came back.

I reread it. I mention the above to emphasize that, even after all these years, I can vividly recall the panic the book built in my chest. Once again, I read it almost in one sitting. The book is concise in its depiction of alcoholism and mental health. It was worth the search and read.

[Ali Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book so much, I loved how much it goes in-depth with Claude's psychology and mental health, it really wraps you up in the story and makes you feel like you are there, and you really understand the inner workings of Claude's mind. Although the shocking twist at the end really makes you rethink everything that you thought you knew about Claude. It may start slow in the beginning but it is worth it in the end, so stay with it.

[Amy Liu · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think the author tried to teach is the desire of escaping from problems and the fear of facing them will only strengthen your fear. The attraction of simply washing away your problems will drive people to an unhealthy and stressful mental state. The problems that should come will eventually come. They must not be escaped, instead should be faced and fought.

[Luis Reyes · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like it, but I didn't like the end. I think that ending was dismal; not terrible, because is an open-end but I was expecting for a more worked ending like everyone discovering what really happened to Serena or Claude being investigated for the disappearance of her mom. If I could I would give this book 3.8 Stars

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very dark book, I read it as a teenager.

[Rosemary · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was fine-fast read. I’ll definitely recommend it to students who like these kind of books. 2.5 stars

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t remember exactly when I read this book, but I do remember that it was a really good one and that I couldn’t put it down!

[Scarlett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I rated “Buried” five stars because it blew me out of the water and I had trouble putting it down. One thing I enjoyed about the book was how the main character, Claudine, was written. Even though I live a different life than her, I was still able to connect and relate with her. The emotions she felt and the way she took responsibility for her life felt human. I believe a real person would do the same things she did. I couldn’t help but love the character, because I understood her. I also really enjoyed the ending. It was my favorite part of the book and tied up all the loose ends and strange occurrences. I’m not going to spoil it, but the writing was incredible and tells the story very well. And that’s important. I haven’t read many books concerning alcoholics, but this one captured everything very nicely. I really enjoyed the book and would 100% read it again.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I honestly don't know my feelings about this story. Sad, but brutally honest? Maybe. Good, though.

[Sara Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was obsessed with this book when I was in school—it’s a captivating story with a great twist at the end

[Alizabeth Settergren · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was predictable and underwhelming. I will say that MacCready did a great job at portraying a young person with OCD caused by trauma. Overall, I'm glad I read this book to get it off my TBR.

[Hutch · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book came to me by way of a box of books about to be tossed from a friend's basement, and now that I've read it, it will find its way to a Little Free Library for someone else to read.

The story here is simple enough: Claudine is the child of an alcoholic mother, and is currently trying to make sense of her everyday life in the sudden and unexplained absence of her mother. The author is excellent at capturing the minutiae of a teenager's everyday life: the homework, the classes, the interactions with other young people, the interest in clothes and appearances. Yet, for all that, this is overlaid with a heavy-handed dose of items from Psychology 101. Claudine shows all the over-obvious signs of OCD and codependency, and the places where she elaborates on the pain that her mother has caused her rely on cliches and easily expected phrases. The story is supposed to end with a plot twist, but the outline of the characters and their patterns makes it fairly easy to guess the twist; I certainly guessed the outcome by the end of the first chapter.

That said, for anyone looking to understand alcoholism through the lens of a teenager, this might be a good book to read. The writing is generally good, and this is the author's first outing, so hopefully some of the small flashes of original character development will grown in her next outing.

[Ari Karnezis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this book up, looking for another psychological thriller. I'm glad I barely paid anything for it. I will do my best not to spoil anything, but what made me give this book only three stars (more like two-and-a-half stars) was the incredibly vague ending. I will not give it away, but I will ask, "What happened?" As I thought about it more and more, I started piecing the little things together and eventually came up with the best possible ending, but still, I'm uncertain. I never like having to go on the Internet and ask about the ending or read other reviews to see what other people think. I should be able to figure it out myself without thinking too hard. I will give the author some credit, though. She really kept me reading until I reached the last page. I honestly really liked the main character's personality and how we could see why she is what she is. Her uncontrollable OCD and need to keep everything clean and in place kept the book interesting. The mystery of her alcoholic mother gave the book more of a plot. The supporting characters who reached out to the protagonist, Claudine, made me empathize with her and also made me think that maybe her "friend" could have tried a little harder to support her instead of just thinking about herself. The story continued to flow nicely into the climax, but that was where the best parts of the book ceased to exist. After we find out the truth, we have no closure. All we have is Claudine's road to recovery and her analysis of "feelings." That's all well and good for a moving ending, but we still do not have enough closure. What really happened to her mother? (That's as far as I'm going talking about the ending.) I was sure about an alternative to what happened to the mother, and all I can think is that my alternative would have made more sense and would have given more closure. That is what an ending needs and what a potentially good books deserves: closure.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Best Books YA, mystery)

It took me awhile to get into this book. I was not really invested in the outcome until about 75 pages from the end. I guessed part of the ending in the first third of the book, which made the climax slightly disappointing. Claude’s mom is an alcoholic and has disappeared. Claude claims she fell off the wagon, but the reader knows something else is going on. Throughout the story, Claude begins to lose control and signs of her distress manifest in her OCD that has begun to rule her life. In the end, you find out why Claude had been trying to control her life and just where her mom went.

Teenagers’ lives are not all perfect; there are issues under the surface for everyone. There are teens who can relate to being the adult in their families and hiding secrets so as to appear normal to the outside world. Also, teens understand the idea of “burying” your problems and attempting to forget about them. Buried shows teens that when you try to bury your problems, you put off the inevitable and make problems worse in the end. On a slightly superficial level, teens who love mysteries would enjoy reading this book and attempting to figure out where Claude’s mom is.

This book may be hard to promote. Perhaps teasing it as a mystery with a case to be solved can pique interests. Also, perhaps as part of “Alcohol Awareness Month” you could create a display in your library highlighting YA novels that deal with Alcoholism, including this book. I could also read a portion of the book where Claude starts to unravel, as those suspenseful scenes would intrigue readers.

3Q, 3P, J/S

[Maple · Rating 3 out of 5]

Claudine is a 17 year old young woman who is left with the aftermath of her mother (a single parent) falling off the wagon, again. Claudine is not only left with having to clean up after the apparent party her mother had the night before, but it becomes obvious that her mother has taken off with no clues of when or if she will return. Claudine is hopeful that her mother has finally checked herself into rehab and is set on drying out for good this time. Through the book we follow Claudine in her daily life as she attends classes, group support meetings, and going home to an empty trailer. Little does Claudine notice the subtle and strange changes that are happening around her.


Overall I liked this book. Admittedly it has a very slow start, but after about 50 pages in it really starts to pick up. Though this is a young adult novel, it was an interesting look at mental health issues and what it is like to live with it , or with someone who is mentally ill. I was not entirely prepared for that aspect of the book, but it was a very good read. This was another quick read; I finished it in less than day. This book left me feeling a bit creeped out. It was a very eerie story, but if you have time this is one book that worth checking out.