The Watcher- James Howe

Title: The Watcher
Author: Howe, James
Publisher: Simon and Schuster, 1997
ISBN-10: 0689801866

Genre: REalistic Fiction
Reading Level: 890 Lexile
Interest Level: 12+


Readers Annotation: Every day she sits and watches the surrounding people. She records what she sees but will never know what is inside their souls as they will never know about her.

Plot:
This is a story that starts with a little girl who sits and watches the world around her.She writes everything down and yet she can only observe so much. To others, she seems like a very sad and strange girl and yet she is complicated and full of life. She escapes her life by creating stories about others. Evan is a boy she sees on the beach often. His life seems perfect but she does not see that his parents are talking about divorce. Chris is a lifeguard for the summer and the girl sees him as a beautiful person, but he is escaping a life of no love and lots of loss. This book takes three people are brings them together in an unexpected way.

Review:
This book was different from many of James Howe's books. It is serious and sometimes hard to read but gives a different perspective on people's lives. These three teens would not have come together had the girl not been watching so intently. This book surprised me. From the back of the book it seems to be completely different from what it is. This discrepancy could be confusing to the reader and I would advise readers to come at this book with an open mind. This way, enjoyment will be greater.

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