Don't Tell, Don't Tell, Don't Tell

Gr 9 Up—Sophomores Angel and Frederick eat lunch together in the Reject Room. Both find it hard to make friends; overweight Angel has been in a half-dozen schools, and Frederick has Asperger's syndrome. The unlikely pair form a friendship where Angel helps Frederick with his social skills and Frederick becomes Angel's confidant. While Frederick has resigned himself to bullying by the "Despisers," Angel decides that her best option is to return to the previous town she lived in. When Frederick is called in by the police for questioning, he learns that Angel's plan to run away and stay with her friend has gone awry. Sworn to secrecy, he is confronted with the choice of breaking his promise or setting out to track down Angel on his own. The friendship between Frederick and Angel is sweet. Teens will recognize the social structure of a high school in which students with disabilities and insecurities are marginalized and at times pushed to the point of drastic, self-destructive actions. However, the plot moves slowly and Frederick's internal monologue, designed to reflect a teen with his disability, ultimately becomes predictable and tedious.