Shelter: A Mickey Bolitar Novel [Hardcover]

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Shelter: A Mickey Bolitar Novel [Hardcover]

Product Details

Reading level: Ages 12 and up
Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile; First Edition edition (September 6, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0399256504
ISBN-13: 978-0399256509
Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.8 x 1.3 inches
Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

By : Harlan Coben
List Price : ~~$18.99~~
Price : $12.00
You Save : $6.99 (37%)

Customer Reviews

Shelter is published as a teen novel, but I thought it was a pretty good adult read. Harlen Coben introduced Mickey Bolitar in Live Wire and now gives him his own story. He is a bright, energetic, high school student who is having a really bad year. He has witnessed his father's death and is now dealing with his mother's drug addiction. Forced to live with his uncle Myron he starts the school term by meeting an enchanting girl, Ashley, who quickly becomes his girlfriend. Just as quickly she goes missing without a trace. Working with some quirky new friends he has made at school Mickey tries to find Ashley. He uncovers a conspiracy and along the way finds out some things that cause him to question his father's death.
The writing is good, the wry humor that Coben is noted for is fully present and actually sounds realistic coming from a teenage boy. The plotting is also good; the action moves right along. I think this will be a successful series for Coben and will bring new young readers to the mystery genre. Mystery lovers of all ages should enjoy!

With "Shelter," Harlan Coben departs from his list of exceptional adult thrillers to provide an entertaining Young Adult novel.
Fifteen-year-old Mickey Bolitar has had a summer of turbulation. He witnessed his father's death in an auto accident and his mother is now in a clinic, unable to cope with her husband's death.
Mickey is one of the new kids at the high school. He met Ashley Kent at an orientation for new students at the school a few weeks before school began. They made friends and he thought of her as his girlfriend. But suddenly, when school began, Ashley wasn't in school. In addition, a teacher told Mickey that he'd been notified that she probably wouldn't be back.
Mickey is the total package of a character who the reader would be entertained with. He's six foot four, knows about martial arts, defends others when they are unfairly treated and has a curiosity perhaps from his Uncle Myron, an accomplished detective.
With Ashely's disappearance and the fact of the emotional loss of his parents, his father permanently and his mother, emotionally, Mickey decides to investigate Ashley's disappearance.
In his investigation he's helped by his friends who are social outcasts at the high school: Spoon, the nerdy kid who is the janitor's son, and Ema, an oveweight goth, with shoe polish black hair, pale skin and arm tattoos all bundled up with a sense of humor that makes her endearing and the reader curious to learn more about her.
The story takes many turns and leads to other unique characters. Coben's talent for creative writing and witty literature is shown very nicely.
Mickey Bolitar should take his place with the wonderful characters who lead the way in Young Adult literature and cross over to entertain adult readers at the same time.