Choker

CHOKER is a decent guilty pleasure for mature teens just starting with psychological thrillers. But savvy readers probably will guess the implausible twist well before the end -- and without that surprise, there isn’t much left. It’s easy to empathize with awkward Cara at first, but like all the book's characters she stays paper-thin. Zoe hints of dark secrets, yet her best friend shows little interest in what happened while they were apart, nor does she offer much more than a place to crash. It’s a cast of stereotypes: thrillingly dangerous Zoe; jock Ethan, with his “chiseled cheeks"; “prom-princess” bully Alexis and her faithful sidekick; out-of-touch parents.

The reaction to the nasty violence is superficial and often callous. For all the heavy topics dragged into the plot – bullying, teen identity, mental illness, violent deaths – the only character who seems touched by the chain of events is Ethan. In the end, he’s just another beam used to prop up a flimsy premise.