Authors: John Saul
ISBN-13: 9780553288346, ISBN-10: 0553288342
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Date Published: November 1990
Edition: Reissue
Somebody in the town of Borrego, New Mexico has a grudge against teenagers. So strong is this grudge, in fact, that the mysterious person has come up with a way to silence the teens forever. No adolescents are safe anymore in their beds.
Borrego looks like an ordinary New Mexico town: it borders an Indian reservation, its teenagers are bored and restless, and its only industry is the outdated oil refinery. But someone has a plan to shake up Borrego that involves controlling the minds of the local residents. When Judith Sheffield is asked to return to her sleepy hometown to teach high school math, she discovers that the students' mandatory flu shots don't really contain flu vaccine. The teacher joins forces with refinery worker Frank Arnold; his teenage son, Jed, whose mother belonged to the neighboring tribe; and Brown Eagle, the boy's grandfather, to find out what and who is behind the flu-shot edict and an equally mysterious takeover bid for the oil refinery. There are compelling scenes in which Brown Eagle introduces Jed to Native American mysticism, and the novel's climax involves a spectacular display of man restoring nature to its rightful place--after having almost destroyed everything in the process. Saul's ( Creature ) suspenseful tale leaves the reader with no doubt on the question of who wins and who loses in the struggle of good against evil. (Jan.)