The Terrorist

Cooney, C. (1997) The Terrorist. Scholastic: New York, NY. (9780590228534)

Billy has been killed. Laura was on a mission to find who killed her little brother. Laura was not aware of what she could possibly get herself into on her adventure to locate the true terrorist. 

Caroline Cooney creates a mysterious adventure in which she brings to life a very current event: Terrorism. The Williams have moved to London from Boston Massachusetts because of their father’s new job. Billy and Laura both attend London International Academy with students from all over the world. Some of their peers are rich refugees from various countries, others are American’s whose parents must work in Europe, and some, unfortunately come from wealthy terrorist families who are in hiding from their country. Billy, an adventurous young man intrigued by the new place he will call home, was given a package in the Underground that contained a bomb. Laura is faced throughout the novel with questions and apprehensions about her classmates. “What if Billy’s killer was somebody in school? Somebody right here at L.I.A.?”(p. 65).

Laura begins to question all of her classmates’ origins and requests to see their passports. However, what Laura does not see is that the one person who was responsible for her brother’s desk actually became one of her closest friends- Jehran.

The Terrorist contains so many themes. Cooney introduces her young adult readers to adventure and suspense with the idea of terrorism. She also incorporates the theme of multiculturalism and learning to accept others for their differences, and not simply through what you hear in the news. Laura, found it difficult to understand this concept, repeatedly questioning her teachers and friends parents regarding countries in which Terrorist originate, and sensing frustration when the answer was not as cut and dry as she may have once suspected. “I don’t want details, Mr. Hollober. Just a list of who has terrorist.”(p. 73). Part of what Cooney does throughout this book is open the reader’s attention to the idea of stereo typing cultures and religions. Not only do we learn about the Arab cultures, but also about the conflict with the Irish and Brits. All of these come into question for Laura when deciphering and investigating her brother’s death.

Finally, Cooney describes the emotions that family members go through when losing a loved one. According to Books for adolescents, “Her latest offering for YA readers deals with international terrorism and reflects the horror, the sorrow, and the feeling of helplessness that random acts of violence engender among survivors.” (Teri S. Lesesne, 1997). Even though most of the story is told with Laura, the sister in mind, we get a vague sense of her parents suffering as well. 

Part of the suspense Cooney brings to the reader is that the reader knows more than the main character herself. Readers know before Laura does that her brother Billy has been killed by a terrorist attack, readers also know before Laura knows that Jehran and her family are the terrorist that killed her brother. Even though The Terrorist deals with so many underlying themes, the adventure and suspense from the point of view of a teenager with adhere to young adult readers both boys and girls. 

Books for adolescents. By: Lesesne, Teri S., Buckman, Lois, Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 10813004, Dec97/Jan98, Vol. 41, Issue 4