Degrees of Guilt: Kyra's Story

by Dandi Daley Mackall

Book Overview

This new trilogy explores the events and choices leading up to the death of a classmate through the differing perspectives of three high school seniors. All feel a measure of guilt for their role in... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0842382844
• ISBN13: 9780842382847
• Release Date: October 2003
• Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.0" x 8.0"
• Age Range: 15 to 19 years
• Grade Range: Grade 10 to Postsecondary

Customer Reviews

Degrees Of Guilt (Kyra's Story)

This book is well writen and very highly recomended.This book shows the real life of some teens and what they go through to be cool, or popular. Macon,Iowa. A small town with very little people. Kyra has lived here all of her life, and everything was perfect. Until a new teacher arrives and mixes up everything. How did it go down hill so fast? Who was the cause? Read to find out.

Kyra's Story

This series is about the guilt three different people feel involving the death of Sammy, who is a twin brother to Kyra. This book is Kyra's point of view. This series is interesting because there are three different points of view and you get to see how each person tells the story. This book was absolutely amazing! Everything in this book was so real, I could actually see something like that happening in my town and in my highschool. Everyone can relate to something in the book, maybe even more than one thing. I could not put it down and found myself staying up late just to get further into the book! I can't wait to read the next book, Miranda's story. I would recommend this book to all teen girls out there or anyone else looking for a great read! You won't be disappointed, I know I wasn't!

Great book,was an excellent book !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kyra's Story is about a girl named Kyra, and her troubles in life. She has a Brother named Sammy, and friends named Miranda and her boyfriend Ryan, and her best friend in the world Dylan. She is a senior and is so nervous about the play tryouts. She always gets the lead, and she is nervous that she won't get the part since they have a new English teacher named Mitch. When she doesn't think that her tryout is good enough she demands that she tryout again. She gets nervous and sneaks into his pills. After that she felt like she needed pills so she took her mother's pills and blamed it on her brother. When her brother finds out he makes her stop and then tells him that he's a geek and so shy and up tight. So after that she didn't see him until the night of the play. after the play they threw a party at Miranda's house but something went terribly wrong. Something Kyra and everyone their will regret for the rest of their lives.

Intriguing Concept

Sammy James is dead. His twin sister, Kyra, believes that it's all her fault. He wouldn't have been in the compromising situation that resulted in his death if Kyra hadn't driven him to it. As she awaits her turn to testify at the trial for Sammy's murder, Kyra looks back at the past few months and ponders her role. Kyra has held the lead in every play since kindergarten in her hometown of Macon, Iowa. She's a cheerleader who runs with the "in" crowd, and has already been accepted at NYU for next year. The charismatic new English teacher, Mitchell Wade, forges an instant connection with the students on their level. He is in charge of the senior play, and Kyra's tension mounts as she's not sure she will impress him enough to win the lead. In contrast, Sammy is laid back and does his own thing. Kyra feels the stress building each day--the constant pressure to do, act, and be the best. She starts sneaking Xanax from her mother in order to take off the "edge", and that works for a while. As Kyra becomes more and more addicted, her perception of her relationships is altered. When Sammy finds out what Kyra is doing, will she stop? What exactly is Kyra's role in Sammy's death? I was pulled into KYRA'S STORY from the first page. It is one of three books in the DEGREES OF GUILT series; each book is written from a different person's perspective. After reading the book, a code is included and the reader can go to the website and read that person's trial testimony. Also featured at the website is the final verdict naming who is responsible for what happened to Sammy. Kyra could be any high school senior. Her struggles with perfection will hit home for anyone who is currently experiencing the drama of high school, as well as those who are looking back. My daughter is a senior, and she said, "Wow, this author really knows what we're going through!" Sammy is the innocent victim, and it will be interesting to see how everything plays out over the course of the next books. Mitchell Wade is the ultimate villain; he's cunning and integrates himself into the lives of the teens in a way that seems commonplace and natural. A subtle faith message is included, as Kyra learns to depend on God rather than the drugs for her strength. KYRA'S STORY has universal appeal, and is highly recommended for both adults and teens. All three books are available now, and readers will want to pick up all of them to get the full picture of the events surrounding Sammy's death. Courtesy of www.BookLoons.com

Honest and meaningful

What I truly enjoyed about all three books of "Degrees of Guilt" was the feeling that I was given private passage into the heads of the teenagers in the story. I say story, singular, because it is one story, with three different perspectives. Read all three to find out how Sammy really died. Tyrone, Miranda, and Kyra all have feelings of guilt, that they could have somehow prevented Sammy's death. These books are about how it happened and how each person dealt with their actions leading up to, and after, Sammy's death.I would have guessed that the story would get old before finishing the third book, but each character's personality and the circumstances were so different that it stayed fresh.I highly recommend these books to both young people and their parents.