Friday Flashback: Rec. #16: The Undertaker's Gone Bananas

I decided to start doing Friday Flashbacks in case you missed some early posts the first time around. You're busy; I understand.

What: [Contains spoiler! But it's not the point of the book! So don't worry!] Two high school misfits investigate the question posited on the cover above: "Did Mr. Hulka really kill his wife and hide her head in the television set?" 

In most other young adult novels, the answer would be, "No, it was just a wacky misunderstanding." Here, the answer is, gleefully, "Yup! He did!" The mystery is not really the point of the story, though. 

The point is that it's solved by Bobby, who imagines his life in headlines, and Lauri, who is almost paralyzed by incessant thoughts of all the ways she could be killed. Most of all, the point is that Paul Zindel writes about them as people, not just high schoolers.

Comparable to: Adam Langer, but more whimsical.

Representative quote: "The kids just kept staring at each other as though in silent agreement that the world was for the most part unjust and often very noisy."

You might not like it if: You're not in the mood for YA books right now, thank you.

Connections to other Wreckage: List #2, List #5, List #7, List #11, List #14

[Originally posted 1/15/11.]