Acceleration by Graham McNamee

McNamee, G. (2003) Acceleration. New York: Wendy Lamb Books.

Summary:

After being forced to take a dead-end summer job at Toronto Transit Commission’s Lost and Found, Duncan, a teenager, finds a journal filed with descriptions of various crimes of an amateur serial killer, nicknamed “Roach”, who is just making the transition from arson and animal abuse to stalking and possible murder. With little information, and with the police unable to take over the investigation due to insufficient evidence, Duncan and his friends begin to use the journal to track down clues and information. It is not until the serial killer comes searching for his journal at the lost and found that the cat and mouse game begins.

Advisory Information:

-Themes:

a. Guilt: Duncan must come to terms with an accidental drowning that he witnessed first hand, but was unable to help. This is what motivates him to solve this case.

b. Good vs. evil: Duncan and his friends have engaged in illegal activities, but does that make them bad? This becomes especially important in terms where to draw the line: Wayne (Duncan’s friend) breaks into houses, but does not physically hurt anyone, whereas “Roach” is obviously evil.

c. Nature/Nurture debate: Roach’s mother and grandmother sort of serve as an explanation of nurture; however, the author seems to imply that biology also is a key element. This is evident with Duncan’s thoughts on how the grandmother would just clean up the blood in the basement and assume that Roach was the caged animal she always thought he was.

d. Teen lifestyles: The book looks at teen relationships in terms of family, friends, girlfriends, as well as day-to-day activities like mundane summer jobs.

Age Recommendation

Older Teen: The writing is so straightforward that even younger teens should be able the language, however the material is best for older teens. The book is about a stalker who is starting to gravitate towards murder, which is what the title references. Additionally, there is discussion of teen relationships both with friendships and girlfriends. However, the language is not graphic.

-Other Information:

a. The story takes place in present day Toronto.

b. Conclusion is somewhat graphic in that there is a death by subway.

Reaction:

I enjoyed reading this book. While it was slightly predictable, I think that the subject matter and the “cat and mouse” game kept the reader interested. The author created a protagonist that, from a teen’s perspective would be easy to relate to and somewhat believable. While the overall story was not entirely realistic, the pace, writing style, background information and logic, enabled the author to take these freedoms.