Fade to Black (Flinn)

Fade to Black 
Alex Flinn, 2005
HarperCollins
208 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780060568429


Summary
Three perspectives—one truth.

The victim: After his windshield was shattered with a baseball bat, HIV-positive Alex Crusan ducked under the steering wheel. But he knows what he saw. Now he must decide what he wants to tell.

The witness: Daria Bickell never lies. So if she told the police she saw Clinton Cole do it, she must have. But did she really?

The suspect: Clinton was seen in the vicinity of the crime that morning. And sure, he has problems with Alex. But he'd never do something like this. Would he?  (From the publisher.)

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Author Bio
• Birth—October 23, 1966
• Where—Glen Cove, New York, USA
• Education—University of Miami
• Currently—lives in Miama, Florida

Alex Flinn grew up in Syosset, New York and Miami, Florida. At the age of five she started thinking about being a writer and submitted early efforts to magazines like Highlights, which did not publish them. At twelve, she moved to Palmetto Bay, Florida, a suburb of Miami, where she still lives. She had a hard time making friends at her new school, and she has said that this experience inspired much of her writing for young adults, particularly her book, Breaking Point.

She graduated from Miami-Palmetto High School and was in a magnet performing arts program called PAVAC (Performing And Visual Arts Center), which inspired some of her book, Diva. She graduated from the University of Miami with a degree in vocal performance (opera) then went to law school and practiced law for 10 years before retiring to devote herself full-time to writing. She lives in Miami, Florida, with her husband, Eugene Flinn, two daughters, a cat, and a dog.

Alex Flinn loves fairy tales and is also the author of a modern retelling of "Beauty and the Beast" titled Beastly, which was named a VOYA Editor's Choice for 2007, a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age for 2008, and a 2008 ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers.

Her other books include Breathing Underwater, an ALA Top 10 Best Book for Young Adults, Breaking Point, Nothing to Lose, Fade to Black, and Diva. (Adapted from Wikipedia and the publisher.)

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Book Reviews
Flinn, a former attorney, is also interested in point of view—or rather the challenges presented when multiple points of view collide. In this tautly constructed novel, an HIV-positive high school student sees his life 'fading to black.' Then an unknown assailant attacks him in his car, and he suddenly finds himself sifting shades of gray. As the victim, the suspect and the lone witness take turns with the narrative, 'truth' and 'guilt' grow increasingly elusive.
Elizabeth Ward - Washinton Post

Flinn, author of Breathing Underwater (2001) and Nothing to Lose (2004), takes aim at bullying once again. [Characters] alternate telling their stories and sharing their secrets.... Teens will enjoy ferreting out the reality from the conflicting narratives and arguing about the sensitive issues raised along the way.
Booklist

The facts are clear: Alex Crusan, an HIV-positive Cuban-American high school student who recently moved to small-town Pinedale, FL, was attacked in his car by someone with a baseball bat. He is now in the hospital with multiple injuries. Daria Bicknell, a special education (Down syndrome) student, was a witness to the attack. But who was the assailant? Daria thinks it was fellow student Clinton Cole. Clinton was seen in the area that morning, and he's been vocal about his feelings about someone who might spread "the black plague": his little sister and Alex's are best friends, and Clinton wants Alex out of their lives. We get the story in alternating chapters from the three teenagers' points of view. Alex tells of his struggle to deal with his HIV-positive status and to cope with his overprotective mother, and his fear of having no future. He forms a friendship with a candy striper at the hospital, and gradually decides to come clean about how he contracted HIV—it was from a brief relationship with a college girl, and not from a transfusion, as his family had told everyone. In blank verse, Daria tells about what she saw, and how it gets her much-desired attention from the other girls. And Clinton tells about his anger and what he really did: he is guilty, but not of this crime. In the end, telling the truth is difficult but liberating for all three young people. Flinn, a former attorney and author of the notable YA novels Breathing Underwater, Nothing to Lose, and Breaking Point, tells a convincing and wrenching tale of teens dealing with thorny issues. The three viewpoints effectively help the reader consider the plights and concerns of each character. A worthy and thought-provoking novel, with an eye-catching cover. Ages 12 to 18.
Paula Rohrlick - KLIATT

(Grade 8 & Up) Alex Crusan, an HIV-positive, Hispanic teen, is brutalized by an attacker wearing a high school letter jacket, and all fingers point to Clinton Cole, the narrow-minded jock/jerk known for making Alex and his family's lives miserable since they arrived in the rural, north Florida town. Daria Bickell, a special-ed student with Down syndrome, is the only witness to the crime. Right from the outset, it seems as though Flinn has tried to pack too much into this unsteady novel. Through alternating first-person narratives, the three main characters grapple with physical disability, racism, bullying, homophobia, and AIDS anxiety. The after-school-special approach to the issues and the inclusion of several mid-90s cultural references make Fade to Black read as though it were written a decade ago. Not to say fans won't pick up this acclaimed author's latest mystery, but literary merit is sacrificed when edgy tension takes a backseat to preachy sentimentality. —Hillias J. Martin, New York Public Library
School Library Journal

Before 17-year-old Alex transfers to a small Florida high school, its administrators announce at an assembly that he's HIV-positive. Alex persuades his protective parents not to sue for this illegal action even though it leads to harassment, particularly from a fellow student named Clinton. When Alex is attacked in his car one morning, Clinton is the obvious suspect. Alex, Clinton and Daria, a student with Down Syndrome who sees Clinton near the scene of the crime, each narrate chapters describing the aftermath when Alex is hospitalized, Clinton is shunned by classmates and Daria vacillates in her testimony. Alex, who knows Clinton isn't guilty, struggles with his inclination to let his harasser take the blame, while Clinton starts looking beyond his self-absorbed, difficult life to feel some sympathy for Alex. Only near the end does the reader learn how Alex contracted the virus, a story that, perhaps inevitably, reads like a warning. Flinn draws perceptive pictures of family relationships and of the emotions of a teenager scared about his future but determined to make the most of the present in this readable exploration of ethical issues.
Kirkus Reviews

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Discussion Questions
1. What do you think Daria saw on the morning of October 27? Did she misunderstand what she saw, or did she merely have difficulty communicating with the police?

2. In the early chapters, both Alex and Daria speak of feeling invisible or ignored. Does Clinton share this feeling? Why or why not? Do you see kids at school being treated like they're invisible, and for what reason?

3. Alex describes Clinton as his "arch nemesis" and Clinton would probably agree that the two boys have little in common. Is this true? In what ways are Alex and Clinton alike? How are they different?

4. How does Clinton justify his treatment of Alex at the beginning of the book? Does he change this attitude by the end, or does he merely agree with Alex to get out of trouble?

5. Why do Alex's parents encourage him to lie about how he contracted HIV? How does this make him feel? Why does he want to tell the truth?

6. Would it bother you, as it did Clinton, to have to sit next to Alex in class? Why? Did your attitude change after reading this book?

7. Alex debates whether to tell the truth about Clinton's involvement in the crime. Do you think he would have been justified in lying? Why? What would you do in his situation?

8. Why do you think the author chose to tell the story through three different characters' eyes? In what ways might the story have been told differently if it were told in only one viewpoint? Do you think the "truth" is affected by who is seeing it?

9. Why do you think the author chose Daria as a narrator for the story? What does her narrative add?

10. In what ways, if any, do the viewpoint characters grow in the course of the story? Which character do you think experiences the most growth?

11. Why does Jennifer tell Alex the story about her experiences with her father?

12. Discuss the relationships Alex, Clinton, and Daria have with their families? How are these relationships similar and different? In what ways do these relationships change in the course of the book?

13. Did you feel sympathetic toward Clinton? What factors, if any, made him a sympathetic character?

14. How do people at the school react to the crime against Alex? Do you think this is how you or people you know would react to a similar crime?

15. Why is Jennifer drawn to Alex? Why does she talk to Clinton about him at school? Why does Alex get angry at her for doing so?

16. What do you think would have happened if Clinton had never been accused of the baseball bat incident but, instead, had been picked up for throwing the rock? Would the outcome have been different? What would the relationship between the two boys have been if Clinton had been accused only of the crime he actually committed?

17. Alex dislikes Pinedale, yet doesn't want to leave when his mother says they will go back to Miami. Why? How does his attitude toward Pinedale change during the course of the book? What factors contribute to this change?

18. At the end of the book, Daria says, "Mama says I am still a hero." Is she? In what way?

19. What is Alex's attitude toward Daria? Does it change in the course of the book? Why and how?

20. If the three characters were unable to settle their differences but were, instead, required to testify under oath in a court of law, what would the likely outcome be?
(Questions issued by publisher.)

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