Friction

Friction is a novel that is mainly written in the eyes of a child, a child that is in his/her growing years of life, turning to the teenage years. This book shows the confusions and problems some young teens have to face in there life.

The book starts out about a girl by the name of Alex. Alex is an 8th grader at Forest Alternative. She has been there all her life and really enjoys the school. But one day, during the school year, Forest Alternative brings in a new student by the name of Stacy. Alex right off knows that there is something weird about Stacy, but she just can’t figure it out. Alex ends up being assigned to show Stacy around the school and get her up to date with everything that has gone on. From then, Alex and Stacy start to be friends. Stacy tells Alex about how her father had died because he was in and accident and since their family was Jehovah Witness’, he could not have a blood transfusion.

Through out the year, Stacy starts to make comments about Alex and their teacher, Simon. Simon is the teacher for one whole hall of the school. Alex always goes to Simon when she has something she needs to get off her back, or if she needs personal help. Alex spends a lot of time with him. He is known in the book as a very caring man. But, according to Stacy, Simon is more caring than any teacher should be. Stacy notices that Alex is in Simon’s office a lot. She sees Simon hug her and starts to make rumors in the school that Simon and Alex like each other and have something going on.

Further in the book, Stacy ends up breaking her arm on a field trip. Simon takes her to get help. When Stacy gets back to school, she tells Alex how Simon had sexually abused her on the trip and told her not to tell anyone. Stacy’s arm soon got infected, and she staid home more often, which caused her father to come to the school. If a person misses school or work a lot, that is a good sign that the person may be abused. Alex then realized that everything Stacy had told her had been a lie from the very start, noticing that Stacy’s father was not dead. Sometimes when the abused is scared they will not mention who the true abuser is.

The rumor soon got out that Simon had supposedly sexually abused Stacy on the trip and then everyone starts to notice the smallest things that Simon does turn in to big problems.

Eventually, Simon is confronted