Paradise Lost

Gr 8 Up—In this continuation of This Side of Paradise (North Star, 2001), Jack Barrett is finally accepting what happened to him and his family last year: his father's villainous alter ego, Adam Eden, seemingly killed his mother while his brother Troy's clone destroyed himself to save the real Troy. Now, on the first day of school, awkward Chase Maxfield has turned into what appears to be a male supermodel, arousing Jack's suspicions that something is amiss. These feelings are confirmed when Troy and Jori, Jack's girlfriend, both alarmingly report sightings of Mr. Eden. Suddenly Jack finds his life on a downward spiral; his girlfriend breaks up with him, his brother disappears, and his grandmother is poisoned. It seems that Adam Eden is back and out to destroy Jack no matter the cost. The villain is reminiscent of Mr. Hyde, but with too few glimpses of Dr. Jekyll. The other characters are one-dimensional, and the situations they find themselves in often feel contrived. Younger teens may enjoy the action-packed story line that keeps them guessing, but the plot and dialogue as a whole seem to walk a very fine line between credible and campy.—Kimberly Castle, Medina County District Library, OH