The Body of Christopher Creed by Carol Plum-Ucci

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Submitted by Julia Mohler 
(May 15, 2007)

Two minutes ago I finished reading "the Body of Christopher Creed" for the second time. Even without the element of surprise at the ending that I had the first time around, it still made me want to cry and cry. I have yet to discover if it has a technical literary term attached to it, but what moves me more than anything about literature is the way some books have of coming full circle, of building up to a conclusion that you know is coming without being aware of it. From the beginning I wanted to believe that Chris was alive, but like Torey I got caught up in the layers of complexity; the lies, the doubts, the horror of the cave. Maybe it has to do with Tolkien's theory of the "eucatastrophe"; the beauty of the story is that somehow deep inside, we always knew that hope had to endure somehow.
The author's background in journalism serves her very well; this is a textbook example of all the different ways an author can write about a character based solely on indirect sources. I think that it's an incredible accomplishment, especially for a first novel, to create such an epic, yet intimately real character without actually introducing us to him.
I'm torn between analyzing the the reasoning behind the parallel to the story of Jesus and just accepting it as an intelligent and powerful element of the storytelling. To me, this was subtle enough that I didn't really notice it until I had finished my first reading of the book. For now I'm gonna lay off the analysis and say that the parallel is one of my favorite parts of this book simply for the fact that it haunts me, which is the mark of true writing for me.

This book was and is one of my all-time favorites. It details some of the things I have been finding in my school, how people treat each other. It's amazing that an adult, who is out of school and has her head above all of this can still remember just how it was and how vicious things can be, and wrote it down in the most eloquent, beautiful way. Thanks to her for opening peoples eyes to it, probably many who were a part of it. Not to mention, this book has the best ending I have ever read. ever.

This book was absolutely amazing. I couldn't stop reading it. It gave me a whole new outlook on things and I didn't want to put it down. The conclusion was outstanding it really made you feel like the book was real. This book is astonishing and should really be read.

This book was an excellent book and I believe anybody would enjoy reading it. From the blog on the back of this book many other teens have came across with the questions as to where they could find a boo like this. The book builds suspense well and just when you think you have it figured it out something else strange pops up. The only thing that kept this book from 5 stars is the language. Other than that this is a book I believe everyone should read so that they can get a good outlook on bullying and the fact that it should be stopped. This was an excellent book and I will enjoy reading her other books.

I thought this book was very intriging especially to young readers. It keeps you guessing and wondering what actually happened to Chris Creed during the book and even after your done reading it. This book makes you sure of yourself and what is going to happen and then takes you for a turn around. This book should have had a sequel and I'm very disappointed that it didn't.