Colder Than Ice by David PatneaudeWaiting in the office for his papers to be admitted to class, Josh meets another new boy in his class, Mark. Mark is weird. He doesn't make eye contact, he's too loud, and the teacher lets him takes photographs during class all the time. Mark and Josh are seated with Skye, a new kid who started at the beginning of the year. At recess on the first day, Corey, the class president, invites Corey to play with him. Corey's disdain for Skye and Mark is immidiately apparent. Although Cory bullies his friends, Josh wants to be on Corey's good side. Mark and Skye warn Josh that Corey is trouble.
The reader can see immidiately that Corey is not a good person to be friends with, and that Josh is supposed to learn to value friendship over popularity. Josh can't see that. In the end, Josh is not forced into any moral decisions; the situation escalates and his choices become much more clear cut. This is a cop out. Real situations usually do not oblige us so nicely. Mark's ability to act quickly is atypical for Asperger Syndrome, which the teacher says Mark has. This book is not Josh's story; the story only uses Josh as a vehicle for the more compelling story.
Happy reading.
