You

2010 – HarperCollins Children’s Books

“In this downward-spiraling story, Charles Benoit creates a closely observed slacker version of A SEPARATE PEACE for now, a time when the young are out of reach of adults but not of each other.”
Newbery Medalist Richard Peck

“Wanna know who the REAL bad guys in your school are? Read You. This book will keep you reading, and then it will start you thinking. And talking. You is GOOD stuff.”
Chris Crutcher, Margaret A. Edwards Award-winning author of Deadline and Angry Management

“Charles Benoit has written a shattering, gut-wrenching novel that put YOU right in the center of the story. Pick it up and you won’t put it down!”
Michele Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Gone

“As a parent and a bookseller, reading YOU made me feel scared, sad, humbled, amazed, and energized. Charles Beniot’s young adult debut is an outstanding, original, haunting novel that will stay with me for a long, long time.”
Cathy Berner, Children's/Young Adult Specialist and Events Coordinator, Blue Willow Bookshop in Houston, Texas

A sandstorm of a novel, as harshly real as hell or high school. I LOVED IT. Robert Lipsyte, Margret A. Edwards author-winning author of The Contender

“Kyle Chase is one of the most painfully realistic young men I have encountered in some time. His struggle to take life on its own heartless terms is frequently uncomfortable to witness, but it is just about impossible to turn away from.”
Chris Lynch, Printz Honor author and National Book Award Finalist

"If YOU are an arrogant slacker who thinks that YOU are too smart and too clever and too cool to read then YOU should think twice about this sharp book which exposes the vulnerable underbelly of the slacker dude because this book has been specifically written for YOU."
Jack Gantos, Printz Honor and Newbery Honor author

“You is authentic, ambitious, and gripping. A serious book that reads like a suspense novel, the story it tells--of the ways in which we become imprisoned by our own choices, big and small--is both frightening and frighteningly real.”
Lauren Oliver, author of Before I Fall

“YOU is the gut-wrenching story of something that happens every day, in every school, in every town. Charles Benoit brings us Kyle, the type of kid everyone sees, but nobody really knows. Now, readers will know him. This book.”
Alex Flinn, award-winning author of Breathing Under Water and Beastly

"I sat down to start this book - and didn't get up until I'd finished it, a riveting three hours later. YOU is pitch-perfect: funny, real, touching, brimming with tension and foreboding - and still surprising right up to the last page. One of the best YA novels I've read in years.”
Patricia McCormick, National Book Award Finalist author of Sold and Purple Heart

“YOU is a POWERFUL debut, reminiscent of classic Chris Crutcher & Robert Cormier with an added touch of Jay Asher. It’s a story that will resonate with teens caught in the crossfire of everyday life, with an ending that will have your jaw on the floor!”
Heather Doss, Children’s Merchandize Manager Bookazine, Bayonne, New Jersey

“Benoit peels back the layers of an angry and underachieving teen to reveal the raw fear of a young mind faced with it's own decisions.”
Angela Sherrill, Children’s Book Buyer, 57th Street Books, Chicago, Illinois

“The highest compliment you can pay readers is to trust them with the truth, no matter how dark and unsparing. Robert Cormier did that. And now, in his unforgettable young adult debut Charles Benoit does it, too. This amazing novel will have readers everywhere talking . . . and—even better—thinking.”
Michael Cart, author of From Romance to Realism: 50 Years of Change in Young Adult Literature, and past President of YALSA

“I started reading YOU the first chance I had and didn’t want to stop until I reached the end. Benoit is a dramatic new voice in young adult literature. Extremely engaging, YOU’s subtle yet relentless progression to inevitable disaster is powerful, clever, frightening, and stunning.”
Don Gallo, past president of ALAN

“Meet Zachary McDade, a witty and elegant villain, as charming and perversely devoted to pointless evil as Robert Cormier’s Chocolate War villain Archie Costello—or Mephistopheles himself. Zach’s victim, Kyle Chase, is poignant in his helpless anger at his bad choices as the net closes around him. A freight train of a story, comparable in its compassion, innovative style, and devastating impact to Cormier’s The Rag and Bone Shop. Stunning.”
Patty Campbell, past President of ALAN

“YOU is absolutely amazing. Once I started it, I couldn't put it down, and as soon as I finished it, I wanted to go back and read it all over again. Benoit has a completely original voice and it's great to see such a well-rounded teen protagonist who is an ordinary slacker-type. Accessible to all kinds of readers, YOU will provoke a lot of thought and discussion. I can’t wait to recommend it to others.”
KT Horning, author of Cover to Cover: Evaluating and Reviewing Children’s Books, past President of ALSC, and 2010 Arbuthnot Honor Lecturer