Zane's Trace - Allan Wolf

a novel in free verse. is this becoming more popular lately (see Crank)? the story is told from zane's pov. zane, a high school senior, suffers from epilepsy, which he describes like a werewolf transformation. he has been living with his grandfather since his schizophrenic mother committed suicide and his father walked out on them when he was still small. after his grandfather's death zane makes the decision that he is going to kill himself on his mother's grave site in zanesville, ohio. so, armed with an antique pistol, a case of mountain dew and a box of sharpies, zane sets off in a stolen '69 barracuda. along the way the story takes a decidedly supernatural twist. to some extent it feels like a play on that old urban legend about the guy who picks up the hitchhiker... ok, i won't say anymore, i don't want to ruin it. i enjoyed this book, and because it's in free verse it's actually a lot shorter than it's page count. if i were to be brutally honest though, i really chose the book because it has an absolutely brilliant cover (speaking of brilliant covers, "king dork" also has a brilliant cover and definitely deserves to be read. written by one of the guys from the mr. t experience. good punk band.).