By: Dana Reinhardt Publisher: Wendy Lamb Books Average Rating: Binding: Hardcover Label: Wendy Lamb Books Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 240 Publication Date: February 13, 2007 Reading Level: Young Adult Release Date: February 13, 2007
Product Description: There was a man. He had a knife. He attacked us down by the river.
It was just a harmless little lie.
Anna, Emma and Mariah concoct a story about why they're late getting home one night—a story that will replace their parents' anger with concern. They just have to stand by it. No matter what. Suddenly the police are involved, and the town demands that someone be punished. And then there is the man who is arrested and accused of a crime that never happened.
A "young adult" story that transcends young adults Harmless is a rich, textured story of three young women caught in a terrible lie that spirals out of control. The narrative structure is enjoyable and unusual - first person narration alternating across the three main characters with details that overlap while retaining individual perspectives and unique details.
The voices of the three protagonists are powerful and authentic - even in moments of confusion and fear. Their struggles with identity and the moral consequences of their lie resounds within the broader context of teenage struggle. The plot is well-crafted and suspenseful. Overall, Harmless is a wonderful, thoughtful story that transcends young adult appeal to a much broader adult audience.
I listened to Harmless unabridged on audio CD narrated by Lynde Houck, Donna Rawlins and Staci Snell. Each woman does a fine job voicing the emotional journey of their respective protagonist.
Harmless Ever been in a situation that you had to lie to cover up something bad you did? Thats exactly what happened to Emma, Anna, and Mariah, three teenage girls who are best friends. They are freshmen in high school who would do anything to fit in. Including hanging out with older guys who are major trouble. One night after leaving a party early, the girls stumble to the river to just chill. As it gets darker and darker out time also passes and one of them get a phone call from a parent. They are very worried about them because the girls told them they were only going to a movie, so to try and avoid getting in trouble or caught the girls make up a huge lie that in the end really damages their lives. They say that they were attacked by a mysterious man and soon the whole community hears and is deeply affected by it. Everyone has alot of sympathy for the girls and they get widley noticed. Then, the cops find a suspect and think hes the man who the girls made up. Eventually, the lie catches up with the girls and they have to come clean because the lie not only effected their lives it was taking a huge toll on other peoples too. In the end, the girls work everything out and have to do alot to earn everyones trust back, especially their parents.
Jenna Wolverton.
An accurate account of how telling the truth at all costs really does matter. Anna and Emma have been best friends since [..]and are completely inseparable. That is, until Mariah comes to town. With her wild ways and fast attitude, Mariah enters their school and turns their lives upside down.
Emma is the product of two university professors and has an older brother, Silas. She is talented and outgoing, and participates in school plays. Anna is an only child who is responsible, dependable and an all-around good girl. Mariah has an older boyfriend who attends another school and likes to show off her hickeys. The three of them coming together is pretty far-fetched, but, oh well, opposites do attract.
As the girls grow closer, Mariah decides to let Emma and Anna in on her secrets. She introduces them to her boyfriend's buddies, and they all plan a sleepover at his house. During the slumber party Emma decides to takes things to the next level with one of his friends and joins the "I'm a woman" club with Mariah. Anna is feeling left out but is content with being the third wheel, or so she thinks. Preparations to spend another evening with the guys go terribly wrong, and they end up being caught. To cover their tracks the girls invent a story about Emma being attacked, which should have cleared everything up, right?
WRONG. Their parents are so worried and concerned that they report the incident to the police. To make matters worse, everyone in town hears about what supposedly happened and start looking for the nonexistent assailant. None of this attention was anticipated, and it begins to negatively affect the girls' relationship. Anna loves being in the spotlight, Emma withdraws into a shell and Mariah finds out that being "a woman" isn't all that it's cracked up to be. When an innocent man is sent to jail, the truth must come out. Are they ready to face the consequences?
Dana Reinhardt, author of A BRIEF CHAPTER IN MY IMPOSSIBLE LIFE, sheds light on how innocent white lies can become glaring blemishes that can't be fixed. She focuses her story on growing pains, learning to take responsibility and knowing right from wrong. HARMLESS is an accurate account of how telling the truth at all costs really does matter. After all, in life, nothing is really harmless. Is it?
--- Reviewed by Belinda Williams
Growing pains, learning to take responsibility and knowing right from wrong. Anna and Emma have been best friends since third grade and are completely inseparable. That is, until Mariah comes to town. With her wild ways and fast attitude, Mariah enters their school and turns their lives upside down.
Emma is the product of two university professors and has an older brother, Silas. She is talented and outgoing, and participates in school plays. Anna is an only child who is responsible, dependable and an all-around good girl. Mariah has an older boyfriend who attends another school and likes to show off her hickeys. The three of them coming together is pretty far-fetched, but, oh well, opposites do attract.
As the girls grow closer, Mariah decides to let Emma and Anna in on her secrets. She introduces them to her boyfriend's buddies, and they all plan a sleepover at his house. During the slumber party Emma decides to takes things to the next level with one of his friends and joins the "I'm a woman" club with Mariah. Anna is feeling left out but is content with being the third wheel, or so she thinks. Preparations to spend another evening with the guys go terribly wrong, and they end up being caught. To cover their tracks the girls invent a story about Emma being attacked, which should have cleared everything up, right?
WRONG. Their parents are so worried and concerned that they report the incident to the police. To make matters worse, everyone in town hears about what supposedly happened and start looking for the nonexistent assailant. None of this attention was anticipated, and it begins to negatively affect the girls' relationship. Anna loves being in the spotlight, Emma withdraws into a shell and Mariah finds out that being "a woman" isn't all that it's cracked up to be. When an innocent man is sent to jail, the truth must come out. Are they ready to face the consequences?
Dana Reinhardt, author of A BRIEF CHAPTER IN MY IMPOSSIBLE LIFE, sheds light on how innocent white lies can become glaring blemishes that can't be fixed. She focuses her story on growing pains, learning to take responsibility and knowing right from wrong. HARMLESS is an accurate account of how telling the truth at all costs really does matter. After all, in life, nothing is really harmless. Is it?
--- Reviewed by Belinda Williams
Harmless school review They weren't at the movie because they lost track of time at the beach, and then someone grabbed Emma and was going to rape her when Mariah and Anna threw a stone at his head, sending him off into the woods. They got up and ran, hiding under the dock for a long time, leaving only when they were certain he was gone. This is the explanation that Emma, Anna, and Mariah give their parents on why they weren't at the movies like they said they were going to be. The truth, however, was that they were at a party with their senior boyfriends, and they were taken by surprise when Emma's mom called her phone and asked why they were not at the movie. All three sets of parents called the police, and Detective Stevens is assigned to their case. They thought that they wouldn't have to go to the police, and that it would be a secret, but the next day, everyone at school found out, along with most of the people in the city. A few days later, a young girl that looked like a little version of Emma (blond hair, blue eyes) was reported missing from her home across the river from the beach where Emma was almost "attacked". This makes the police suspicious, and as they ask more and more questions to the three girls, the lies pile up, and the police capture a suspect, a homeless man who's name is David Allen. When the detective asks why there wasn't any blood or bruising on David's head where the rock should have hit him, Emma cracks and tells her brother Silas that the whole thing was a lie. All three girls are arrested, but their lawyers ask for no charges, just forgiveness. They didn't get off without punishment, however, all three were expelled and had to do a thousand hours of community service. This is an excellently written story that is told in the voices of three high school freshmen.
The main characters in this book have very distinct personalities. Anna, the "good girl" never told huge lies to her parents and craved attention. Emma, stuck between Anna and Mariah, is confused and hurt after the lie and stops talking to most people. Mariah is the rebel, the new kid who found her niche when she started going out with a senior. Together, the three of them are and odd group, but they manage to be best friends.
There is a moral to this book. The first lies that they told their parents were that they were each going to each other's houses to spend the night, which worked out fine because their parents were not great friends, and they trusted them enough to let them walk over to spend the night without checking up. When they lie about why they were not going to the movie, however, the lies keep piling up as the police ask more and more questions, until almost everything they say becomes a lie so they can cover for the other lies.
This book can get a bit soap opera-ish. For instance, Anna secretly likes Emma's older brother, Silas, but Mariah is hooking up with him behind both of her best friend's backs. The parents are also very clueless. In part of the book, Mariah states "Funny. I'd lied to my mother, stolen her money, spent the night with my boyfriend, and managed to get her to feel sorry for me. I was a genius."
At the end of the book, thier friendship is broken apart when Mariah goes to barding school and Anna works at a camp of troubled kids.
This book fluently describes the life of three teens who lie to their parents, and that lie keeps growing until it is out of control and hardly believable.
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