Reality Check

by Peter Abrahams

Book Overview

Will Cody save clea before it's too late? 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 in threes--or in Cody's case, sixes...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0061227684
• ISBN13: 9780061227684
• Release Date: April 2010
• Publisher: Harperteen
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.64 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.6" x 7.9"
• Age Range: 13 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 8 and higher

Customer Reviews

Richie's Picks: REALITY CHECK

"Cody extended his hand, patted Bud's face. He looked into Bud's big brown eyes, thinking: You know. Whatever happened, you know." Varsity quarterback Cody Laredo has a difficult time scholastically. He has some real disadvantages, being that his mom died some years ago, and he shares a small, grungy apartment with his hard-drinking, uneducated, unloving father. Fortunately, Cody has a great thing going with Clea, the smartest, richest, hottest, horseback-ridingest girl at County High, in Little Bend, Colorado, just east of the Rockies. But when, at the end of their sophomore year, Cody is joyful about the D- in English -- it is, after all, good enough for him to be able to play football in the fall -- Clea is totally freaked over her B in calculus. She knows that she'll pay a heavy price for anything less than an A. And she does. While Cody spends the summer helping make deliveries for the local lumber yard, Clea's powerful businessman father ships her off to her uncle's home in Hong Kong, and then enrolls her in a Vermont boarding school for the fall. Cody tries to do what he thinks is the right thing by ending his relationship with Clea. Then, at the very end of the first football game of the season, a moment after Cody has pulled out a one-point come-from-behind win, a very dirty and very late hit on his knee results in a devastating, season-ending ACL injury that requires surgery, pain pills, and rehabilitation. With no girlfriend, no support, and no football, Cody quickly falls behind and then completely gives up on school. Even a return to work for the lumber yard quickly sours...and then Cody sees a story on the front page of the newspaper that Clea has disappeared in the woods near her boarding school. Her horse, Bud, returned to the campus barn without her. After a sleepless night, and a terrible day of work, Cody comes home to find a somewhat cryptic letter from Clea that was mailed the same day she disappeared. Packing a snack and some clothes, withdrawing what he can from the ATM, Cody aims his truck toward Vermont. There are so many teens who love great thriller/mystery stories -- or would if they were lucky enough to find one. Peter Abrahams has crafted a first-rate page-turning thriller and mystery for young adults. Danger, disappearance, and star-crossed lovers make REALITY CHECK a perfect summer read.

The Brain Lair on Reality Check by Peter Abrahams

Cody and Clea are opposites. She's smart and rich. He isn't. He decides that he is holding her back from everything she could be, so he breaks it off with her. But he still loves her. Clea's dad never liked Cody and has decided to send her away to boarding school to finish her high school education. Clea moves across the country to Vermont to attend Dover. Then she disappears. It's in all the papers. And Cody knows that something must be going on so he packs up and heads to Vermont. Hoping that he's not too late. May I just say I loved this book. I fell in love with Cody myself. His self-deprecating manner, his determination and persistence. It was hard to tell who was on his side and who was against him. "It's hard to know who to trust sometimes." (91) This theme runs throughout the book and just when you think you've figured out the good guys, Abrahams gives you a little more rope. I thought the story moved quickly and kept me involved and guessing. "Meaning, you think whoever we're looking for is close by?" (242) Abrahams did a great job of giving Cody a voice. I knew what he sounded like and his going to Vermont made sense with the way the story had been setup.

A Tight, Smart Mystery, One With Plenty of Twists and Unexpected Turns

Peter Abrahams established his reputation as a skillful writer of mystery novels for adults, gaining popularity and critical acclaim for his realistic, multifaceted mysteries that often feature unusual characters. A few years back, he widened his scope by starting the award-winning series of Echo Falls mysteries for younger readers, starring a 13-year-old soccer-playing aspiring actress and amateur sleuth. Now, he bridges the gap between his dedicated audiences with REALITY CHECK, a young adult mystery that combines the intensity of football, the struggles of growing up and the fear of losing a loved one. Cody Laredo is finishing his sophomore year of high school on top of the world. He has passed all his classes, which means he'll be able to QB the varsity football team in the fall. And he's looking forward to a long, lazy summer, working at his dad's landscaping business and spending all his spare time with his girlfriend, Clea Weston, the smartest, most beautiful girl in school. When Clea's wealthy father abruptly whisks her away to the other side of the world for the summer, however, Cody starts to rethink his luck. Things go from bad to worse when Clea unwillingly transfers to an elite private school in Vermont for her junior year --- worlds away from Cody's working-class background. And when Cody suffers a torn ACL following a hard hit in a fall football game, he feels like the whole world has been yanked out from under his feet. Cody had been counting on his football talent --- it was his ticket to a Division I football scholarship, to a future away from his small Colorado town, to a life with Clea. But when he's no longer Cody the quarterback, who is Cody, exactly? All his life he's been told he has football smarts, not book smarts, a comment that seems to become a self-fulfilling prophecy when the combination of popping pain pills, missing Clea and generally giving up on himself prompts Cody to drop out of school and take a dead-end job. Cody has just about given up on life when he suddenly finds a new mission. Clea has abruptly disappeared from her Vermont boarding school. The police seem to be flummoxed, and Cody holds a key clue --- a letter she wrote to him the day she disappeared. Cody sets off on a road trip to a world of privilege, wealth and secrets, a world he doesn't understand but soon finds himself investigating. He doesn't know who, if anyone, he can trust --- but he has to learn to trust himself again if he's going to have any chance of finding Clea. REALITY CHECK is a tight, smart mystery, one with plenty of twists and unexpected turns that will keep readers turning the pages. Just as compelling as the mystery plot, however, is the story of Cody's journey to find himself, to discover his talents, to believe that he has worth somewhere other than on the football field. Abrahams also cleverly ties in plot points that could have been ripped from recent headlines, giving the mystery added currency and urgency. If the novel

Fast-paced and Suspenseful

Sixteen yr old Cody has hit hard times. His girlfriend is sent away to a private school, he gets injured during a game and can't play football, his grades are a mess, and he's in trouble at work. When he think things can't get worse, his girlfriend turns up missing from her school; it's all over the news, and the authorities aren't finding any leads. Cody decides to go look for her himself, and discovers that things are not always as they appear. If you are looking for a well-written page turner, Peter Abrahams delivers with 'Reality Check' - it's a twisty, exciting read!