I’m going to start this review with a warning. The book summary makes it sound really good and really interesting, but I didn’t like the book. I thought that the plot was underdeveloped and that the characters were underdeveloped. It was overall pretty boring, in my opinion.
Linked by Gordon Korman is set in a small, quiet town in Colorado. But, something horrible happens. The school gets vandalized by a swastika. Nobody can believe that a symbol of such hate would end up in their small town. Michael is the first suspect since he was the first one to see the swastika. Link is one of the most popular kids in school, so everyone is looking at him to figure it out. Dana is the only Jewish girl in town, so now people are treating her more like an outsider than ever. Then, more swastikas begin to appear. The students at the school start working to bring people together, instead of dividing them further. But as the mystery deepens, many secrets of the past and the present are revealed.
I read this book for a book club that I was in, expecting it to be at least decent. But I simply didn’t like it. I would make some major changes to the characters and the plot. I know that many people like this author, and even this book, but I am simply not one of them.
SPOILER BELOW
My one main problem with this book is the plot. It really annoys me that (SPOILER ALERT), even though there was a Jewish girl in town already, it takes the “popular” kid to discover that he is Jewish for anyone to really try to stop the swastikas and the hate.
Overall, this book was mediocre at best and I would give it 2.5 (3 if I’m feeling generous) stars.