Philly. I mean the city, not the sandwich. And Ms. Pepper. In my eyes, one does not go without the other. The City of Brotherly Love would be a much lesser place without Mandy, the teacher. Amanda Pepper is looking for some extra cash and decides that teaching summer school is the definitive answer. At least she gets to teach in her own school. Most of the other teachers are from different schools and so Mandy gets to once again try out her social skills. I, like her, detest most of her new colleagues. Except Flora. I feel bad for her because she's such a likable character. To have to deal with hate mongering because she's black must be a horrible thing. There seems to be quite the rash of hat crime happening in Philly that summer. Gang shootings, anonymous letters and graffiti adorning the nicest of buildings. But back to the teachers. Five is a smug bugger. All the women fall for him, which immediately make him a turnoff for me. And Lowell....well he's just a sniveling weenie. Poor Amanda, getting stuck with him because her mother knows his mother....makes them sound like they're 16! Aldiss - now that's a woman who needs to be wiped off the face of the earth. To imagine, being a teacher in a classroom that has major multiculture happening and being that much of a racist pig!! Every time she opened her mouth I wanted to slap her silly. I love your books, Gillian Roberts. I love seeing what mess Ms. Pepper gets herself embroiled in. And I love that there always seems to be some moral standpoint behind every novel. Can't wait to see what happens next - both at school and at "home".
Amanda Pepper lives in Philly. A school teacher, boyfriend a cop and a mother in florida pushing for marriage. She is teaching summer scool english and helping a young vietnamese girl improve her english and prepare for college. During the few weeks of school April disappears, her friend Flora is getting hate mail and warnings. Amanda knows these all are related, she and another teacher begin investigating. Of course the mysterious CK ( we dont know the cops first name yet) gets involved with the investigating. other incidences occur that make amanda more resolved to solve these hate crimes. It has some twists that make this interesting.
What do You think about In The Dead Of Summer (1996)?
