BOOK REPORT

I. Introduction Crime detection involves a lot of processes, personnel, equipment and advanced technology in order to solve a mystery behind the crime perpetrated. It painstakingly follows procedure and rule of law. Evidences obtained through force and coercion will not be accepted by the court when the suspects will be charged. The Weirdo is such a kind of story wherein the police investigators followed processes, used equipment and advanced technology and involved personnel in order to finally solve the crime. This story is set in the Dismal Swamp in north eastern North Carolina in the spring of 1989. The main characters are Samantha Sanders- the Sheriff of the town, Chip Clewt- a resident of the swamp, Tom Telford- a graduate student of North Carolina State University. II. Summary This book is set in the Dismal Swamp in north eastern North Carolina, USA. The main character, Samantha Sanders, joins forces with Chip Clewt, a scarred face young man who lives in the swamp, to solve he mystery of a killer who has stalked victims in the swamp and to save the black bears in the Powhatan National Wildlife Refuge. Tom Telford, a graduate student from NC State is sent to the area to study the black bear population. The hunters of the area try to undermine his research because they fear it will result in restrictions of their hunting. Chip helps Tom collar and count the bears causing the locals to harass him in an attempt to discourage his participation in the research. Samantha is torn between her loyalty to Chip and her love for her father who is among the group of hunters trying to run Tom out of the area. After Toms mysterious death, she and Chip join forces in earnest to try to find out exactly who is responsible for his death and to see it is related to the early mysterious murders in the swamp. Finally, after a rigorous investigation the crime was solved. It revealed that Samanthas father and his closed friend were responsible for the murders.

The book explores many themesenvironmentalists vs. hunters rights, family conflict, physical handicaps and teens coming of age.

III. Reflection/Opinion Teens can find many points of interest in this book and teachers could use many issues in the book as a catalyst for discussion. The female protagonist is a strong-willed character whose actions often put her at odds with her family. She is able to see past the outward appearance of Chip to forge a deep friendship. The importance of physical appearance would be another source of analysis. I like the story because I learned that the true test of real dedication to duty may disregard family relationship in the pursuit of real justice.

IV. Recommendation I would recommend this to others especially those who are inclined to crime detection, court cases and police matters. As a teacher I would recommend this to be a source of lesson following the concepts enumerated below: Data collecting Graphing results of data Population of endangered species Habitats of swamps