"The Taking of Room 114"

The Taking of Room 114
Written by Mel Glenn
Published by Dutton Juvenile in 1997
192 pages.

Genre: Poetry, Suspense

Summery: A crazy high school teacher takes his students hostage. It's remarkably gripping, considering that the entire book is a series of poems. There are five poems for each of the students telling of their lives as Freshman, Sophomores, Juniors, Seniors, and finally on the day of the event. The poems do an incredible job of getting inside the heads of teens. Very spot on. The poetry is fun and easy to read.
Response: Oh my. So good. Funny and real, with excellent characters. This book shows that we use too many words when we write. He can create detailed characters with 5 relatively short poems. His writing is fascinating. The storyline is faint but compelling. I read it in less than an hour. This was one of my favorite books I've read so far.

Word of Caution: Mild language. (We're in the teens' heads, remember?) Teen pregnancy. Poetry Haters beware -you might like this book.