Book Review: Fade to Black

Fade to Black is a great story about two boys, Alex, who has HIV, Clinton, who hates Alex, and Daria, a girl who has Down's Syndrome. Clinton gets accused of hitting Alex's car windshield with a bat while Alex is in the car. Daria, who never lies, sees Clinton throw a rock at Alex's sister's window and tells the police. Later on, she tells them that she saw who hit Alex: a boy with a letterman's jacket and a bat. Daria thinks it was Clinton because Clinton doesn't like Alex, is on the football team, has a letterman's jacket, and was out riding his bike that morning. Daria likes Alex because he's nice to her and says "hi" when no one else does; the other kids just make fun of her. Alex asks her what she likes and he even gave her a hug once, so she has a crush on him. Daria likes to go to his house to watch him; she hides in the bushes in front of his house, which is how she saw the things she did. Clinton hates Alex because he has HIV, and his sister is friends with Alex's sister, which makes him afraid because he thinks that she can get HIV by going to their house. So he threw the rock at Alex's sister's window to scare Alex's family, thinking that if he scared them they would leave and he wouldn't have to worry about his sister or seeing Alex. Clinton didn't mean for anyone to get hurt, especially Alex's little sister, who ends up going into her room and stepping on a piece of glass from the window. Alex also learns that Clinton has been putting threatening letters in his locker. Do you think Clinton would hurt Alex with a baseball bat and break his car's windshield? You'll have to read the book to find out!