Counterfeit Son

by Elaine Marie Alphin

Overview

Cameron Miller is pretending to be someone he isn't. When he began presenting himself as Neil Lacey, it was the only way he could think of to distance himself from what Pop had done, to finally climb out of his nightmarish existence. He thought it would be easy—playing the rich kid, sailing his boat—but he didn't count on Cougar. Now Cougar, his father's old accomplice, has tracked Cameron down and presented an ultimatum: Share the wealth or be exposed. Will Cameron give up his new identity to protect Neil's family? Or will he let his search for a new life destroy those around him?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780547487748
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	01/18/2010
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	192
Lexile:	830L (what's this?)
File size:	536 KB
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

ELAINE MARIE ALPHIN (1955-2014) was the author of many acclaimed novels for teen readers, including Simon Says and Counterfeit Son, winner of the Edgar Award for Best Young Adult Mystery. She also wrote numerous books for younger readers and more than two hundred articles for children's magazines.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Praise for Counterfeit Son

"An engrossing, suspenseful novel that is sure to keep the reader glued to the page."—Kirkus Reviews

"Readers will be enthralled by the suspenseful plot."—Publishers Weekly

"...a shocking plot twist that will leave readers thinking about this novel for days."—VOYA

"Counterfeit Son ends with a clever twist that should surprise readers and leave them well satisfied with this solidly written, fast-paced read."—School Library Journal

Editorial Reviews

After suffering at his father s hands, as well as being locked in the cellar while his father beat to death more than 20 boys over the years, Cameron sees a chance at normal life by passing himself off as one of his fathers murder victims. PW wrote, Readers will be enthralled by the suspenseful plot. Ages 12-up. (July) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Cameron Miller's Pop locked him in the cellar while he beat to death the boys he kidnapped--more than 20 boys over the years and Cameron, too, has suffered at his father's hands. As this gripping novel opens, the police have finally raided his Tennessee home and fatally shot Pop. Cameron, seeing a chance at a normal life, decides to pass himself off as one of Pop's murder victims and claims he is Neil Lacey, missing for six years. Alphin (Tournament of Time) builds the pressure masterfully, describing Cameron's constant fear of being found out by the Laceys or the suspicious police detective. He chokes down Neil's favorite meals and fumbles for the answers to old family riddles, all the time observed by his hostile sister, who resents the effect that Neil's disappearance and rediscovery has had on their parents. The tensions accelerate to a fever pitch when Pop's accomplice Cougar shows up, threatening to unmask him if Cameron doesn't cooperate with Cougar's crimes. The author's treatment of each character's psychological wounds is also impressive, and she doesn't skirt the subject of DNA testing or other forensic refutation of Cameron's identity. Though Alphin races through the conflicts a little too quickly, she achieves a neat and happy ending; readers will be enthralled by her suspenseful plot. Ages 14-up. (Sept.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Gr 8-10-A gripping but not altogether convincing psychological thriller. Cameron Miller's father was a serial killer who preyed on young boys; when he dies in a police shoot-out, Cameron takes on the identity of Neil Lacey, one of his father's victims who was abducted and supposedly murdered six years earlier. The Lacey family accepts "Neil" into their home with few questions, but he lives in fear that old dental records and a suspicious police officer will expose his lies. Finally, when someone from Cameron's past threatens his new family, the 14-year-old must decide whether to tell his "parents" the truth. The engaging premise will keep readers on the edge of their seats, though some of the plot points strain credibility. For example, the story depends on the fact that the parents refuse a DNA test to prove the boy's identity. The novel deals with the years of sexual and physical abuse that Cameron endured at the hands of his father, but only on a surface level and never in graphic detail. Many of the interactions between Cameron and his new family are quite moving, especially in the scenes where he expects punishment and finds kindness and love instead. Counterfeit Son ends with a clever twist that should surprise readers and leave them well satisfied with this solidly written, fast-paced read.-Miranda Doyle, San Francisco Public Library Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal

In a kind of Talented Mr. Ripley with a brutal back-story and a more moral protagonist, Alphin (Toasters, 1998, etc.) mines the provocative field of identity, memory, and lies. Fourteen-year-old Cameron Miller had been the virtual slave of Pop, an evil man who got his jollies by torturing and killing young boys. Cameron, who is more intact, psychologically, than seems possible for a victim of such severe, long-term abuse, survived by being totally obedient. During his long hours of imprisonment in the basement, Cameron read and reread all of Pop's files, which detailed the lives and families of the various boys Pop murdered. A wealthy family of hobbyist sailors captured Cameron's imagination-"at first because of the sailboats" and "in the end, because of their money"-and after Pop is killed by the police, Cameron claims to be their missing son, Neil Lacey. The police are skeptical, but the senior Laceys are overjoyed and immediately accept him as theirs. Alphin convincingly delineates the ambivalence felt by Neil's siblings, and her portrayal of how Neil's disappearance and reappearance all but destroyed the family dynamic is first-rate. The novel bumps up the suspense a notch when one of Pop's criminal cronies shows up and threatens not only Cameron's newfound security but the safety of the other Lacey children as well. The resolution tries to have it both ways and the ending is more than a little improbable. Still, an engrossing, suspenseful novel that is sure to keep the reader glued to the page. (Fiction. YA)

Kirkus Reviews

Praise for Counterfeit Son

"An engrossing, suspenseful novel that is sure to keep the reader glued to the page."-Kirkus Reviews

"Readers will be enthralled by the suspenseful plot."-Publishers Weekly

"...a shocking plot twist that will leave readers thinking about this novel for days."-VOYA

"Counterfeit Son ends with a clever twist that should surprise readers and leave them well satisfied with this solidly written, fast-paced read."-School Library Journal

From the Publisher