Biblio Files: talking about books

Shepherd by Julian F. ThompsonShepherd(17), our narrator, hears a message in one of his tapes that no one else can hear. It says, save her life. Shepherd does not know who the her in the message is, but he hopes it is Mary Sutherland, a freshman in his Spanish I class. But Mary runs with a tougher crowd(which is why she would have to be saved) and pretty soon Shep is in over his head, lying to his best friend and to his parents.
This story makes me a little uncomfortable, because I don't like the way Shep lies, or the voice he hears, or how the reader can tell that Shep is getting into trouble when Shep himself doesn't seem to see it. But the narration does sound authentic, and is well written. The ending is a good one, but a little unclear.
Happy reading.