Blank Confession

by Pete Hautman

Hardcover, 2010

Status

Available

Call number

582

Genres

Young Adult

Fiction

Collection

Your library

Publication

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (2010), Hardcover, 176 pages

Description

A new and enigmatic student named Shayne appears at high school one day, befriends the smallest boy in the school, and takes on a notorious drug dealer before turning himself in to the police for killing someone.

User reviews

LibraryThing member mamzel

Shayne Blank walks into the police station and confesses that he committed a murder to Detective George Rawls. In alternating chapters we hear about the murder from Shayne's lips and events from the view of Mike Martin, an undersized, overdressed high school student whose sister, Marie, is dating

drug dealer Jon. When police show up at the school with drug sniffing dogs, Jon shoves a bag into Mike's backpack. Suspecting that there may be drugs in the bag, Mike dumps it in a garbage can. Of course, Jon wants his bag back the next day, the garbage has been emptied, and trouble really starts for Mike and consequently for his sister.
In rides Shayne on his white horse, er, BMW mortorcycle, to save the day. Like the Lone Ranger he rides in to assist the innocent, punish the guilty and ride away without waiting for thanks. Who was that masked man?
A fast read well worth the time.

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LibraryThing member edischri

Blank Confession is a fast, fun read. Officer Rawls is interviewing Shayne Blank, who walked into the police station and confessed that he killed somebody. In alternating chapters, Mikey tells what really happened when Shayne started attending his school. Mikey got on the bad side of the local drug

dealer, and Shayne kept stepping in to help him. I liked the characters, particularly Mikey, who compensates for being short by dressing in "bar mitzvah suits" and cracking wise.

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LibraryThing member ChristianR

A teenager goes to the police station to report that he just killed someone. The story is told bit by bit, some in third person chapters at the police station and other chapters in first person told by Mikey, a high school student. The boy who is confessing, Shayne, is a new student and he and

Mikey become friends just as Mikey is targeted by the local drug dealer who claims Mikey owes him $500 after Mikey threw away the drugs planted on him. Turns out Shayne is awesome at martial arts whose modus operandi is to move from school to school, defending victims and teaching a school bully a lesson before disappearing. The reader (along with the police officer) does not find out who, if anyone, is killed until the very end of the book. Shayne was too accomplished at just about everything for me to fully buy into it. However, I can see how the book could reach teen readers who like stories where the good guy wins through smarts, physical superiority, and compassion.

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LibraryThing member TigerLMS

Shayne Blank is confessing to a murder. From the outset of this short (167 pages) young adult novel, you know that the new-to-town teenager Shayne is ready to tell detective George Rawls everything. But the cop doesn't immediately believe what he's hearing, and it takes almost all 167 pages for the

reader to learn what exactly happened. Told in alternating chapters between Shayne in the police interview room and Mikey, a scrawney-suit wearing high schooler who has yet to hit a growth spurt, the novel tells the brief story of how Mikey was bullied by his sister's drug-dealing boyfriend. Mikey's dad is a recovering alcoholic who used to beat his wife and verbally abuse his children; Shayne says his dad is in the military and in a couple different fights Shayne shows off ninja-like skills that wows Mikey. The plot is straight-forward and Hautman wastes no words in telling the tale that spans only a couple weeks on the calendar. This suspenseful read will especially appeal to reluctant male readers.

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LibraryThing member ken1952

I've enjoyed Pete Hautman novels in the past. But this one just didn't come together for me. I might have read it in too many "pieces".

LibraryThing member trinityM82

TOld from the perspective of Mikey, who is a little ninth grader who is bullied by the school's drug dealer and gets into trouble with him because he tosses Jon's stash when the drug dogs come in. The new kind that MIkey befriends, Shayne, is a mysterious fellow who tries to help Mikey and his

sister (who id dating Jon). Shayne is modeled after Shane from the classic novel and is the perfect gentleman who takes the blame for Jon's accidental death in order to protect Mikey, then disappears. The detective investigating (or at least the one that Shayne tells his story to and the detective follows up), was once a teacher because he wanted to help kids, but became frustrated when the kids were beyond his help, and he couldnt' catch the "bad guys" because they knew the system too well. It is a gripping story that makes you want to turn the pages as fast as you can.

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LibraryThing member librarybrandy

A set-up similar to The Rag and Bone Shop (Cormier) but just doesn't hold up to that standard. It's all very interesting but the story falls a little flat and the language is just... I dunno. Does anyone really use the word "dope" for drugs anymore?

I think the main storyline will appeal to some

teens (and it's short, so yay) but I worry that if I recommend it and they read some of this weird '80s lingo they'll think I'm insane.

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LibraryThing member lindap69

page-turner and I did not see the ending coming

LibraryThing member Tbau

Some advance writing techniques demonstrated brilliantly by Pete Hautman, in terms of change of perspective in narration as well as character building. Plus, a good dose of Hautman humor in "Cujo." Hautman ends the first chapter brilliantly and rolls forth the momentum so that your curiosity is

intrigued. I'd recommend easily for some Young Adult reluctant readers.

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LibraryThing member RavenNight

Blank Confession was everything that I wanted it to be.

I was in the middle of reading a much larger book and wanted something short that would be quick to read. I also wanted a thriller or mystery because I feel like reading those genres during October. So, I browsed my school library and spotted

Blank Confession. It said it was a mystery and it was small with a nice cover; so, I picked it up.

It took me a very short amount of time to read it. Not only was it small, but the story pulled me along and I couldn't put it down. I connected to the characters almost instantly and was intrigued by the mystery of Shayne's identity.

Definitely a good book to get you out of a reading slump, to change things up a little when reading a long series, to break up a large book, or really any time.

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LibraryThing member sarahlh

I usually love Pete Hautman's works but this one barely did anything for me. I lacked connection with any of the characters, a lot of them were underdeveloped, and the major twists at the end involving Shayne were lackluster verging on cliche. It's more of a bullied kid's wet dream than anything

else. The officer character's storyline as well as the chapters that took place in the police station saved it from being a one-star book.

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