| Plot Summary of After the First Death |
|---|
"Kate Forrester, a high school student, is filling in for her uncle as the bus driver for 16 pre-school kids headed to day camp near Hallowell, Massachusetts, when a team of four terrorists hijacks the bus and forces Kate drive it to the middle of an abandoned railway bridge. It's also near Fort Delta, an aging military post that serves as the home for the "Inner Delta," a top secret anti-terrorism unit. The youngest member of the terrorist team is Miro, a 16-year-old plucked from his native land and trained for three years, who expects to perform his first killing on this mission.
As ransom, the kidnappers demand the release of jailed prisoners from their homeland, $10 million in cash, and the dismantling of the Inner Delta. Things get off to a rocky start when one of the children fed drugged candy to keep him quiet dies of an allergic reaction to the drug. Kate tries to make a run for it with an extra bus ignition key but fails. Then, after the terrorists make contact with Brig. General Rufus Briggs, the head of Inner Delta, he offers to send his 16-year-old son Ben as the courier with the ransom money. Soon after, the shooting starts."
David Loftus, Resident Scholar
|
|
|
| Review Analysis of After the First Death |
|---|
|
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).
|
|
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 30%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 20%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%
Tone of story
- suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
Time/era of story:
- 1980's-1999
Spying/Terrorism Thriller
Yes
Cloak & Dagger Plotlets:
- kidnap/rescue
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Who's the terrorist enemy here?
- generic terrorists
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- student
Age:
- a teen
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
How much violence does he/she use?
- a little
Ethnicity/Race
- White/American
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- a teen
Profession/status:
- criminal
Eccentric:
Yes
- deluded
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- throughout most of the book.
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Northeast
Small town?
Yes
Style
Person
- rotating 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately detailed references to deaths
How many deaths?
- 3-4
Sex
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references
- descript. of breasts
Unusual forms of death
- poisoning
Unusual form of death?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- significantly more descript than dialog
|
|
