Crabbe by William Bell Recommendations by Cindy Sargeant

Reasons why Crabbe is so successful:

· The main character of the novel, Crabbe deals with alcoholism, conflicts from parents, pressures at school and social isolation which are all relatable problems with students.
· Story has a great deal of action and adventure since Crabbe chooses to deal with his problems by running off into the woods for 9 months and at the beginning of the story he has very few survival skills.
· Novel is quite short which is manageable for a slower reader.
· Story begins with Crabbe in a hospital telling his story to a psychiatrist. This creates immediate interest because the reader wants to know what happened that put Crabbe in this position.
· Both Crabbe and his friend Mary have secrets which adds suspense to the story because the reader wants to discover what they are hiding.
· Story has bears, blizzards, angry drunk hunters, rapids and waterfalls-the reader’s interest is easily maintained.

Crabbe is suitable for grades 9 and 10 in an applied or locally developed classroom. It centers on the themes of:
· Survival
· Friendship
· Parental Problems
· Identity
· Self Discovery
· Courage