| Plot Summary of At Risk |
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"Polly and Ivan Farrell are a nice, small-town Massachusetts family, with two kids, in 1988: Amanda, eleven, an aspiring gymnast, and Charlie, eight, a bright boy interested in science. Their lives change dramatically when Amanda is suddenly diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, the result of a blood transfusion five years earlier. The family's attempts to come to terms with Amanda's condition create a ripple effect throughout others close to the Farrells: Polly's parents, Amanda's gym coach and his daughter (Amanda's best friend), Charlie's best fried, Polly's business partner, a middle-aged woman with possible psychic ability, the school principal, an HIV hotline worker, and the Farrell's family doctor and his wife. The narrative switches so frequently among the characters that the novel is far more concerned with the coping and mutual support of a community than that of any individual. Although the subject matter is unhappy, the tone is not *just* a tearjerking downer; amidst the grief and fear, Hoffman manages to highlight positive relationships and convictions that strengthen the characters (including Amanda) during Amanda's illness."
A. J. Bell, Resident Scholar
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"This book is the story of an American family, as ordinary as your own. There's Polly, a wife, mother, and struggling photographer; her husband Ivan, who is an astronomer; their son Charlie, an eight-year-old obsessed with dinosaurs.
And then there is Amanda. A wonderful eleven-year-old who dreams of becoming a great gymnast, she is gifted with unusual strength and courage. A sudden tragedy will consume her entire world-her life, her family, and also the community in which they live."
Boppy, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of At Risk |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book?
- depressed
- thoughtful
Time/era of story
- 1980's-1999
Family, caring for ill
Yes
Who is sick?
- Daughter
because he/she is
- physically ill
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- student
Age:
- a kid
- 40's-50's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
- physically sick
Main Adversary
Identity:
- none
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 2 (a little)
United States
Yes
The US:
- Northeast
City?
Yes
Small town?
Yes
Style
Person
- mostly 1st
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
Unusual Style:
- No single main character?
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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