Copy Listing

CopiesReviews

Number	Call Number	Branch	Status	Volume
1	YA F Peretti Frank	DR	In at DR (Deer Run)
2	YA F Peretti Frank	MK	Out: Due May 24 2013
3	YA F Peretti Frank	MY	In at MY (McClay)

BookPage Reviews 2001 June

Frank Peretti grew up in Seattle and was a natural-born storyteller. He would sometimes gather the neighborhood kids for some of his unique and lively story sessions. Released last year, The Wounded Spirit, his first work of nonfiction, shows another side of Frank's youth; kids can be really cruel to anyone they might see as a little weird. His caring about the kids that have to face problems such as these is what has made him a best-selling author.

That caring comes through in Hangman's Curse, the first thrilling book in the Veritas Project series. In it, Elijah and Elisha are a set of high school twins that just happen to be part of a secret government agency, the Veritas Project. (Veritas is the Latin word for truth.) The twins and their parents are sent by the president to investigate and discover the truth behind some of the most mysterious happenings in the nation. This time they find themselves at a high school in Baker, Washington, where a mysterious plague has inflicted casualties among three students, and they are all nearly comatose, deliriously blabbering the name Abel Frye. There is also an irritable police officer that just wants to arrest anyone and everyone that may be involved.

Elijah befriends Ian Snyder, a student known by all his classmates as a guy who is into witchcraft. His sister Elisha finds a friend in another student named Norman, who is commonly beat up by the bigger and stronger guys in his class. Their lives intertwine in this compelling suspense story that draws them together and shows the true futility of the high school social structure.

Peretti clearly displays the Christian nature of his characters numerous times throughout the book. He wrote it to address the "pervasive problem of bullying" that plagues all high schools. (Believe me, I know all about that.)

Hangman's Curse, although fiction, has many relevant life themes that a reader could embrace, such as mistreating others can provoke retaliation out of frustration and that everyone deserves a second chance.

PW Reviews 2001 May #2

Peretti, long praised for his popular Christian fiction for adults and his strong storytelling style, here turns his talent to young adult fiction with a quick-paced thriller about the evils brought by bullying and intolerance. When the star athletes of a Washington state high school are struck down by debilitating hallucinations, the Springfield family (Nate; his wife, Sarah; and teen twins Elisha and Elijah) go undercover to investigate the mystery. The Springfields operate independently, as the Veritas Project, guided by their Judeo-Christian faith to seek the truth behind strange occurrences. They even have a mobile home nicknamed the Holy Roller. But this setup never seems overly corny in Peretti's hands. As the slightly chilling story unfolds, readers learn about the ghost of Baker High a boy named Abel Frye, who supposedly hung himself in one of the old hallways in the 1930s. Throughout, Peretti paints a realistic picture of the clique-y world of high school that will be familiar to just about anyone. His comfortably paced, compelling performance consistently draws readers along. Peretti has an obvious knack sure to appeal to his intended tween and teen audience for emphasizing his beliefs without preaching. Ages 12-up. (Feb.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

SLJ Reviews 2001 July

Gr 6-8-Elisha and Elijah and their parents are part of a hush-hush government program know as the Veritas Project, which can best be described as an evangelical Christian X-Files. Their current assignment is to infiltrate a high school where student bullies have been stricken by a mysterious form of madness. Peretti develops the plot nicely, building in a skeptical police officer, a concerned guidance counselor, and an obnoxious gym teacher who has been encouraging the bullies. Several of the students who have been picked on have formed their own version of a witch's coven and are practicing what they think is black magic to wreak vengeance on their tormenters. As Elijah and his twin penetrate deeper into the mystery, the curses begin to go dreadfully awry, and several students die. The deadly madness istraced to a type of poisonous and aggressive spider breeding within the school walls. As the school is evacuated, Elisha finds herself in the heart of the spiders' lair. While the members of the Springfield family do not keep their religious life undercover, it does not interrupt the flow of the story, nor does anyone get preachy. The twins and their parents use the latest scientific equipment and methods to attempt to find a rational solution to the increasingly dangerous events confronting them. Young teens should enjoy this fast-paced and atmospheric novel.-Elaine Fort Weischedel, Franklin Public Library, MA Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

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