Eventually, one the veterans, Arthur Rivier, recognizes Francis but agrees to keep his identity secret. Additionally, those words are not always what you think they are, since all of those traits can hurt instead of help.

Francis also has one goal and that is too kill his mentor, after finding out why, you are hopping that he pulls the trigger not only on his mentor but also on his self. I suppose one of the things that is a deciding factor in which books get to be put on the GCSE line-up is how they are written, and in fact, the rich language used is something that all of my GCSE texts have in common, which I love.

Francis is skilled at table-tennis after having been taught by Larry LaSalle at the 'Wreck Center', and in his Wreck Center days won a trophy for winning a series of table-tennis matches, culminating in the winning match against Larry LaSalle, despite LaSalle 'letting him win'. The dramatic way in which he tells a story, my training ground, my roots, gives me such appreciation that it was HIS powerful tales I had come across so long ago, and not some mediocre work that I was just happy to get through and be done with. Whilst at school he met Nicole Renard and instantly fell in love with her, and continues to be so until at the end of the book. To that end, Francis disguises his identity from the residents of his hometown, giving a fake name at his boarding house and always traveling with a scarf and hat to cover his wounds.

Francis goes to on to beat LaSalle in a table tennis competition and became well known " Table Tennis Champion.He looks up Lassall to kill him but instead Lassal offers to kill himself, but not before asking if his bad deeds wipes out his good ones. Cormier's skepticism of the possibility of "pure" heroism is best captured through Francis' interaction with a drunken veteran, Arthur Rivier. Having a 16 year old son is not easy at times and it was just good to have something to talk to him about !

Francis draws his gun, intent on avenging Nicole, but Larry explains to Francis how much he lost in the war, drawing his own gun and speaking of how he, too, has contemplated suicide. Their relationship is sweet and innocent and they spend a lot of their time visiting the local movie theater. When Francis comes back he thinks that it's not that same anymore because he has to cover his face and people didn't like him that way but when he goes back to school he mets a girl name Nicole , the girl of her dreams. I don't think Robert Cormier wanted this novel to be exciting and intriguing - I think he would have wanted it to be thought-provoking and it is! Since Larry and Francis were friends (and Larry doesn’t know Francis witnessed the rape), Larry receives him warmly.

I used to adore YA books, with cliché romance plots and heartwarming love stories to more sort of philosophical books, which most of the stories took part in 20th century america. I felt that Larry had got his deserved fate when he lost his legs because it meant he could no longer be the Larry LaSalle he was (strutting about like Fred Astaire and with an air of self-confidence) and LaSalle is described as a shadow of who he used to be.