Отзывы читателей

• bluenichols_1

  (4/5)

  great youth fiction
• deathsmistress

  (4/5)

  I had read this book once before and thought it was great. I'm reading it again now, years later, because I discovered it at my grandmas house and realized I didn't remember the plot all that well. I'm so glad I cracked it open again and decided to read it. The story is great, and the characters are very likeable. I don't totally agree with a lot of the religious talk that goes on, but I got past it with no problem. I'm glad I rediscovered this little gem, I think ill buy the next book in the series!
• kdavis23

  (5/5)

  Summary: Elisha and Elijah Springfield are sixteen year old twins with an unusual life. The twins and their parents are undercover agents working with a secret organization called the Veritas Project. Veritas means 'truth' in Latin, so the families job is to get to the truth of the matter. The Springfields are called to Baker Washington on a special assignment. Students at Baker High have been mysteriously getting ill. There is an old legend that Abel Frye, a former student decades ago hung himself at school. There are differen't tales about Able Frye circulating the school, but one thing that keeps the story going is the mysterious illness some students get. First comes hallucinations, and the students who have the illness call out Abel Fryes name, in horror. Second comes comatose. The Springfield's job is to find out the trush behind all of the madness. Ian Snyder is an outcast at school. It turns out he and his friends have been holding secret witchcraft meetings to call Able Frye to cause harm on the students at school who pick on them. It turns out that one of the boys in the clique has been the real culprit, poisoning the students with a rare spiders venom which causes hallucinations and even death. Two students die before the Sprinfield's solve the case. Themes: Mistreating others and the consequences that follow is a theme that is unmistakable in the novel. Norman, the kid who started the spider retaliation, was almost in a way not to blame. He obviously shouldn't have caused harm on anyone, but in a way that is all he knew. Kids can be really mean and anyone would get sick of the physical and emotional abuse sooner or later. The novel sets a good example of what happens when people are treated poorly. Even Norman has to face consequences for his actions. With all of the bullying at school, and the retaliation, it is evident in the story that everyone deserves a second chance. Even Ian, Norman, and their friends deserve a second chance. Like I mentioned before, a person can only take so much abuse, and retaliation is not the appropriate measure to take, but the kids deserve a second chance to make things right. The same goes for the bullies. They had to learn a lesson the hard way, as far as bullying, but they deserve a second chance to make things right. It helped that Elisha and Eliha never gave up on Ian and Norman, they were always there to help them. Discussion Questions: Why do you think it is important to find the truth in situations? Describe the relationship between Ian and Elijah, and also between Norman and Elisha?Response: I absolutely loved this novel. Frank Peretti is a genius and I cannot wait to read the rest of the series. The story was thrilling and exciting and I could hardly put it down. I never thought I was much for mystery, but the way Peretti portrayed the characters, and described the events, I was engrossed. I felt sorry for Ian and Norman while reading the novel. I couldn't believe how mean people were to them. I was either oblivious to that type of abuse in highschool, or it didn't occur often because I do not remember people being treated that way. I did not like how the bullies happened to be athletes. Most of the athletes at my school respected other people, it was something learned through athletics. However, I did see some connections with the way teachers treated athletes in the books and how teachers treated athletes at my school. Athletes always seemed to get away with more than most people, which isn't fair by any means. Although, the coach in the novel was a little far fetched.
• horomnizon

  (4/5)

  I had picked this book up at a discount store a few years ago, and recently read it. Even though it is aimed at people a good bit younger than myself, I really enjoyed it. The Christianity of the main characters is present, but not overbearing and pushy - it drives them to find the Truth, but not in a hokey way. The storyline was interesting and the mystery was a page turner. I really enjoyed it.
• stephanie mitchell

  (3/5)

  Really wasnt as impressed with this book as I thought I would be. It went by way too fast and some of the ways the narrorator read it make it seem pretty darn cheesey.
• Mandy Dunn

  (5/5)

  Such a great story! I’m so excited to listen to more!
• Eli Schrock

  (5/5)

  This book is the best Christian detective story I’ve ever listened to!!!
• robin661_1

  (5/5)

  1 person found this helpful

  Hangman's CurseFrank PerettiBook Summary: They could be anyone, anywhere . . . even the person walking by you right now. The Veritas Project is their code name--but only a handful of people know teens Elijah and Elisha Springfield have been covertly commissioned by the President to investigate strange mysteries that delve into the paranormal and supernatural. Their charge is to find out not only what happened, but why--the veritas (Latin for truth) behind the seemingly impossible phenomena.Their new assignment: Hangman's Curse In Baker, Washington, three popular student athletes lie in an incoherent coma, with loss of muscle coordination, severe paranoia, and hallucinations. It's whispered that they're victims of Abel Frye--a curse that's haunted the school since a student died there in the 1930s. Now the curse is spreading, and students are running scared. The Veritas Project must go undercover to find the truth . . . before it's too late.Review: I loved this book. I picked it up at Costco and I read it from beginning to end! This was years ago and yet parts of the witty dialog and storyline still comes to my mind. I remember how I could not put it down. The characters were well written and realistic. I think Veritas Project itself was a cool concept. I found the children to be fun and smart without being a disrespectful pair. They were characters I cheered on and wanted to read more of. The parents were intelligent and part of the team with each person having their own specialty. It is the way families should be portrayed rather than the typical dumb parents, smart kids. My only criticism is that there were only two books but that is tempered by a deep respect for Mr. Peretti who had serious vertigo, I believe around the same time. Now that he is writing again I hope he will pen more of these tails. I also seldom read youth fiction but this was a smart and snappy read many age groups.

  1 person found this helpful

• pbadeer

  (5/5)

  This was a choice under pressure. I needed a book, the bookstore was closing in five minutes…and this had a cool cover. Not the best reason to choose a book – but I’m so glad I did.Hangman’s Curse is a Young Adult title written with a Christian aesthetic – but don’t let that scare you (and don’t take that comment the wrong way). As the first book in the Veritas Project series, Hangman’s Curse introduces the characters, a family of four, who are hired into a government project to investigate “occurrences”. The family is very close, have strong Christian values, and fit well into the “project” which also operates under a Christian philosophy. The religious aspect of the writing pops up every once in a while (quite suddenly and awkwardly, in my opinion) where they may pray or argue against evolution, but it has little impact on the overall story line. This first novel sends the team to a high school where students are being “cursed” by the school “ghost”. After a few slower chapters of setup, the reader quickly becomes engrossed in the development of the story and begins to care about the characters and their safety. It takes on the feel of a fast pace, action/adventure style novel, with the underlying mystery staying well hidden until the end (just don’t read the tags on LT – people should really consider other readers before tagging with spoilers). I couldn’t put it down until I got to the end and finished it in one sitting – something very rare for me and a sure sign of how much I like a title. Highly Recommended.