Killing Mr. Griffin
by Lois Duncan
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Book Summary Information
Author: Lois DuncanEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1990-08-01
ISBN: 0440945151
Number of pages: 224
Publisher: Laurel Leaf
Book Reviews of Killing Mr. Griffin
Book Review: good read
Summary: 4 Stars
I have chosen the book because of its cover and the title.
I was looking for a new, thrilling book and when I saw the cover I knew that this is the right one. Because of the title I expected it to be terrifying and gripping and the cover showed me that it must be a really good book. I love new books which play in the present and don't tell an old dull story.
Because of the cover and the title I suppose it's a book about an English teacher who is very strict. His students plan to kidnap him, because they think this would make him more considerate. But the plan goes wrong because the teacher manages to escape. The teacher's initial fury soon turns into a stage of insane and so he decided to kill the students. When the students recognize this they have to kill him first . . .
The aim of writing this paper is to improve my English and my style. There are a lot of problems which I will encounter, for example problems with syntax or to express my ideas.
I hope this book report will help me to reduce my mistakes.
The story is about a group of teenagers, who plan to scare their English teacher. The teacher, called Mr. Griffin, is a very strict man which demands a lot work from his pupils. He only ministers on good grades and doesn't respect the students. A group of pupils want revenge for every bad grade he had given them and for everything bad he had ever done to them. So they make up a plan and kidnap the teacher. They blindfold him and hide him in the mountains. When Mr. Griffin refuses to beg or to cry, the pupils let him alone in the mountains. Sue, one of the group, looks after Mr. Griffin at night but she finds him dead. When the shocked girl calls the others, they bury him and think nobody will ever find out the truth. Nobody knows why Griffin is dead, because they haven't done anything to him. At the end more and more indications uncover the group and soon they are arrested.
The plot is structured in the planning of Griffin's kidnapping, execution of the plan, discovery of Griffin's death and the attempt to cover up the truth. It is very difficult to find out who the main character is, because all of the characters are described in their everyday life and all characters are important for the development of the story. You can imagine being one of the characters and live to see the experiences they make. Every character is described at least in one chapter and so you can see the story from every character's point of view. Usually the character with the main influence or the character which's life is described in the book is the main character. But here we have many potential main characters, for instance Mr. Griffin, the mayor "problem" in the story, Mark Kinney, the boy with the main influence on the group and whose idea it is to kidnap Griffin, or Sue, the "grey mouse" in the story.
However, I think Sue, formally Susan McConnell, is the main character, because the book describes her point of view more often than the others. She is at first the lure for catching Mr. Griffin but when the prank is going too far she listens to reason and wants to break off. She looks after Griffin, who is lying somewhere in the mountains, and finds him dead. When the group decides to cover up the truth, Sue gives false evidence, because of Mark's influence. At the end Sue becomes a victim of Mark's psychiatric disease and then the truth comes out. All members of the group, except for herself get arrested.
Although at first she doesn't seem to be the character with the main influence, she develops into the main character and steers the development of the story.
The author's message is that especially young people can be easily seduced into doing something wrong, but it is never too late to change your mind. The book shows us that a little prank can get out of control and result in a serious crime. Even the best-laid plans can go wrong and it's almost impossible to cover up such a crime. I learned that one little crime leads to another one and so the situation would become much worse than it was at the beginning. The only way to escape from this vicious circle is to listen to reason and tell the truth as soon as possible.
The longer you play the game the worse it'll be. To my mind there are a lot of young people who cannot distinguish, whether they go too far or not. A very important realization is the fact that there is always a leader of a group, who decides what to do. And of course there are others, who obey without worrying about whether this is wrong or not. I think the most important thing you should learn while being an adolescent is to listen always to your conscience and to come loose from peer pressure.
This book is really worth reading it. It's a bit thrilling and very amusing. It was fun reading it because it is very interesting to find out how the story develops. I found it splendid, because it makes you feel being there and you can empathize with each character. For example you can understand what Mr. Griffin's opinion is like and why he teaches in such a strict way. You can imagine what Mrs. Griffin's problems are like, when she looses her husband while expecting a baby. But you can also understand the students' opinion, when they think the teacher torments them and destroy their future by giving them bad grades. I think the author gives you a very good insight into the everyday life of each character. But those parts sometimes seemed to me a bit boring. I think the author should have concentrated more on the crime than on the everyday lives, because this would be more gripping.
This book doesn't exactly live up to my expectations but in spite of this I would recommend it to everybody who likes reading exciting and mysterious books for adolescents.
Summary of Killing Mr. Griffin
High school can be tough. But with teachers like Mr. Griffin it can seem impossible.They only planned to scare him. But sometimes even the best-laid plans go wrong.
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