Chinese Handcuffs

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monica10192, November 14, 2007 (view all comments by monica10192)
Dillon is a sixteen year old triathlon athlete that bears the image of his brother, Preston’s death. Throughout the story, Dillon is encountered by the past, present, and future of his actions by writing to his dead brother, in a journal. His long time friend Stacy, Jennifer the basketball star, and he have their own situations that they have to figure out so they can move on with their lives. They have secrets that they can’t live with anymore. So to overcome their past and present problems they join together to solve them. This book was one of my top picks before I even read it and it proved to be a great book. When reading this book you could feel their emotions and feel their pain. It was impossible to put the book down. The message that the author was trying to show the reader through the book was that you shouldn't hide the truth because in the end you could lose the ones you love. The author is also trying to show you that you need to tell the police or a teacher you trust about problems that you can’t face on your own. If people actually listened to Jennifer her problems wouldn’t have been as bad. I would recommend this book for teens because this is the area of the problems that the characters in the novel are going through. Teens can comprehend the literature and meanings of this book. This book would be good for both young men and young women.

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a7xluver, November 14, 2007 (view all comments by a7xluver)
The book, Chinese Handcuffs, was one that I did not find interesting. It is the story of a teenage boy, Dillon Hemingway, who is traumatized after witnessing his brother’s suicide. Before his brother shoots himself, he tells Dillon all of these horrible things that happened the other day. Worst of all, he blames Dillon for all of it. Now Dillon has to leave with the feeling of guilt for the rest of his life. After that, a whole mess of horrible things happen to him and the people around him, some of which are results of his brother’s suicide. As Dillon made his way through all the hard times of his life, he finds some comfort in friends that have the problems just like him. He finds most of his comfort from the girl that he has known for most of his life; Jennifer Lawless . He wants to become closer to her but he can’t only because of what she is keeping a secret from him. Then one day she tells Dillon and he wants to do everything he can to help her. Together, they try to get over all of their problems and become overwhelmed. Even if I did not find the book interesting, I still found the book to be well written. I would recommend this book to everyone that can read.

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cheesedoggy#1, November 14, 2007 (view all comments by cheesedoggy#1)
Dillon, who has witnessed his brother’s suicide, is a high school student in the book Chinese Handcuffs. The book starts out with Dillon training for a triathlon. He is very athletic, but doesn’t play sports at his high school. Throughout the book it switches back and forth between Dillon’s life and Jen’s life; Jen is one of Dillon’s crushes, and she has also had a semi-bad life. When she was about eight, her father would come in her room and touch her in inappropriate places. Her mom didn’t believe her, but eventually her father left and her mom got a new boyfriend who did the same thing! In the middle of the book it goes into detail how Preston, Dillon’s brother, killed himself; it was very depressing. After that Dillon started writing letters to Preston about how life is. Then Jen fell during her basketball game and had to be rushed to the hospital. She started remembering her past while tuning in and out of reality. Dillon got over his brother’s death and everything was better; Dillon and Jen remained best friends. This book taught me that it is better to let go of the people you love even though it is hard. Chris Crutcher did a phenomenal job with Chinese Handcuffs.

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Product Details

ISBN:

9780060598396

Author:

Crutcher, Chris

Publisher:

Greenwillow Books

Author:

by Chris Crutcher

Subject:

Social Situations - Adolescence

Subject:

Sports & Recreation - General

Subject:

Child abuse

Subject:

Suicide

Subject:

Social Situations - Physical & Emotional Abuse

Subject:

Social Situations - Sexual Abuse

Subject:

Social Situations - Suicide

Subject:

Social Issues - Physical & Emotional Abuse

Subject:

Social Issues - Suicide

Subject:

Social Issues - Sexual Abuse

Subject:

Situations / Adolescence

Subject:

Children s Young Adult-Social Issue Fiction-Sexual Abuse

Subject:

Children s Young Adult-Social Issue Fiction

Edition Description:

Paperback

Publication Date:

20041031

Binding:

TRADE PAPER

Grade Level:

from 9

Language:

English

Pages:

304

Dimensions:

9 x 6 x 0.25 in 7.92 oz

Age Level:

12-UP