Short and Sweet Book Review: Crossing

Crossing by Andrew Fukuda (web site)
Genre: mystery/suspense, ya
Publisher: AmazonEncore, April 27, 2010
Paperback 217 pages

From Goodreads:

A loner in his all-white high school, Chinese-born Xing (pronounced “Shing”) is a wallflower longing for acceptance. His isolation is intensified by his increasingly awkward and undeniable crush on his only friend, the beautiful and brilliant Naomi Lee. Xing’s quiet adolescent existence is rattled when a series of disappearances rock his high school and fear ripples through the blue collar community in which he lives. Amidst the chaos surrounding him, only Xing, alone on the sidelines of life, takes notice of some peculiar sightings around town. He begins to investigate with the hope that if he can help put an end to the disappearances, he will finally win the acceptance for which he has longed. However, as Xing draws closer to unveiling the identity of the abductor, he senses a noose of suspicion tightening around his own neck. While Xing races to solve the mystery and clear his name, Crossing hurtles readers towards a chilling climax.

I became interested in this book when I saw it advertised on Goodreads with the description-creepy. Oh how I love a creepy book! When I finished this book I was really left with the feeling of "how tragic!" Xing is truly an outsider in his own town. No one really knows him except his best friend, and fellow Chinese immigrant, Naomi. When it came right down to it, Naomi didn't really know Xing the way she thought she did. Most people who came in contact with Xing didn't even realize he could speak English. Throughout the story you could feel his contempt towards his town and school. At times you might even dislike him. It's hard enough to fit in when you're a teenager but for Xing this problem is even further complicated by his ethnicity. Another reviewer of this book commented that the prologue gave the impression that the ending would be different than the final outcome-I must agree. This is a dark story...the ending will leave you feeling distraught and pondering the whole mess. I recommend this book if you're in the mood for a brooding, dark mystery. Due to some crude language this book would be appropriate for an older teen.