The Terrorist by Caroline B. Cooney

Laura's life is changed forever when her younger brother Billy is killed by a package bomb in a London subway. Laura becomes obsessed with finding her brother's killer and getting revenge. To Laura, everyone is a suspect including her friends from London International Academy where she attends school.

1998 Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers

I read this book when I was in high school, back when it first came out- and it definately left an impact on me (though, I didn't remember who the killer was). Laura's love for her younger brother and the way in which she describes him is very touching. She really made me care about her brother. The circumstances surrounding his death are haunting. I find it interesting that a story written nearly ten years ago still reflects a lot of our society's attitudes towards other cultures and other societies and cultures attitudes towards Americans. The ending of the story is a bit disappointing, I was upset by the lack of closure- especially in that the killer was not held accountable for Billy's death.