Within a month Eddie has found the dead bodies of both his father and his best friend Billy. The shock of which has silenced him from all speech. Seemingly lost and unsure of what to do Eddie is in contact with Billy's spirit (who also serves as the novel's narrator). Eventually Eddie finds Warren Peece by Chris Crutcher and it genuinely begins to help Eddie. Then Reverend Tarter, who is also the high school English teacher, begins a witch hunt to have the book banned. When Eddie breaks his silence to defend the book he begins to let the living back in. Even though he doesn't win the battle of Warren Peece and the book is banned from the school, Eddie takes solace in the fact that he did everything he could and his life takes a turn for the better.
I found the placement of Chris Crutcher in his own novel to be highly unusual (and maybe a bit self-promoting). However, I do think this novel would be a great addition to a high school level lesson over censorship in literature. I would especially like to see how the students could handle being silent until they were ready to defend this novel.
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