Downers Grove (novel)

Last updated
Downers Grove
Downers Grove novel 1999.jpg
First edition cover art
Author Michael Hornburg
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genre Bildungsroman, horror novel
PublishedJuly 21, 1999, (William Morrow)
April 9, 2001 (reprint; Grove Press)
Media typePrint
Pages240
ISBN 978-0-688-16528-4
LC Class PS3558.O6873 D69 1999

Downers Grove is a 1999 American coming-of-age horror novel by Michael Hornburg. Its plot centers on the last two weeks of teenage girl's life as a high school student growing up in Downers Grove, Illinois. [1] The novel was originally published by William Morrow and Company in 1999, and reprinted in 2001 by Grove Press.[ citation needed ]

Contents

Plot

Crystal Methedrine Swanson, known as Chrissie, is a teenager in Downers Grove, Illinois, about to graduate from high school. Her father has disappeared, while her brother has become a heroin addict, and her mother has begun dating a bizarre man. As her graduation nears, Chrissie and her close friend, Tracey, worry about a curse surrounding the high school that has led to multiple students dying each year. After nearly being raped at a party by one of the school's football players and harassed after, she worries she may become the next victim.

Reception

Publishers Weekly gave the book a positive review, calling the novel "disquieting in its timeliness." [1] Robin Henley of The Chicago Tribune wrote: "If the story and setting sound like territory that has been well-trod, that's because it has been, but what makes this novel a welcome addition to the canon of coming-of-age literature is the voice Hornburg has created for Chrissie. Hornburg knows the rhythms of teenage world-weariness, a self-possessed patter that often belies the terror of straddling the worlds of adulthood and childhood." [2]

Adaptations

The novel was adapted by Bret Easton Ellis into a film in 2015. [3]

Related Research Articles

DuPage County, Illinois County in Illinois

DuPage County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois, and one of the collar counties of the Chicago metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 916,924, making it Illinois' second-most populous county. Its county seat is Wheaton.

Addison, Illinois Village in Illinois, United States

Addison is a village located in the Chicago Metropolitan Area, in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. The population was 36,942 at the 2010 census.

Downers Grove, Illinois Village in Illinois, United States

Downers Grove is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1832 by Pierce Downer, whose surname serves as the eponym for the village. It is a south-western suburb of Chicago in the I-55 Corridor.

Midwestern University American graduate university

Midwestern University (MWU) is a private graduate medical and professional school with the main campus in Downers Grove, Illinois, and an additional campus in Glendale, Arizona. As of the 2020-21 academic year, a total of 2,998 students were enrolled at the Downers Grove campus and 3,945 were enrolled at the Glendale campus.

Downers Grove South High School Public school in Downers Grove, Illinois, United States

Downers Grove South High School, or DGS, and locally referred to as "South", is a public four-year high school located at the corner of Dunham Road and 63rd Street in Downers Grove, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. Its principal is Edward Schwartz. It is part of Community High School District 99, which also includes Downers Grove North High School. The South campus draws students from Downers Grove, the majority of Woodridge, half of Darien, and small sections of Bolingbrook and Westmont.

Lois Duncan American writer, novelist, poet, and journalist

Lois Duncan Steinmetz, known as Lois Duncan, was an American writer, novelist, poet, and journalist. She is best known for her young-adult novels, and has been credited by historians as a pioneering figure in the development of young-adult fiction, particularly in the genres of horror, thriller, and suspense.

The Naperville Sun is a newspaper based in Naperville, Illinois, USA. It is published three days a week, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. It is owned by Tribune Publishing's Chicago Tribune Media Group, a group that also includes the Aurora Beacon News, the Elgin Courier News and the Lake County News Sun, formerly Waukegan News Sun.

Avery Coonley School School in Downers Grove, Illinois, United States

The Avery Coonley School (ACS), commonly called Avery Coonley, is an independent, coeducational day school serving academically gifted students in preschool through eighth grade, and is located in Downers Grove, DuPage County, Illinois. The school was founded in 1906 to promote the progressive educational theories developed by John Dewey and other turn-of-the-20th-century philosophers, and was a nationally recognized model for progressive education well into the 1940s. From 1943 to 1965, Avery Coonley was part of the National College of Education, serving as a living laboratory for teacher training and educational research. In the 1960s, ACS became a regional research center and a leadership hub for independent schools, and began to focus on the education of the gifted.

One on One is a 1993 fiction novel by author Tabitha King, set in the fictitious New England town of Nodd's Ridge. The book was published by Dutton Adult.

Veronica Roth American author

Veronica Anne Roth is an American novelist and short story writer, known for her bestselling Divergent trilogy.

<i>The Curse of Downers Grove</i> 2014 film by Derick Martini

The Curse of Downers Grove is an American thriller film written by Bret Easton Ellis. Based on the 1999 novel Downers Grove by Michael Hornburg, the film stars Kevin Zegers, Bella Heathcote, Penelope Mitchell, Lucas Till, Zane Holtz, Helen Slater, and Tom Arnold. The film received a limited theatrical release on August 21, 2015 and a subsequent DVD/Blu-Ray release on September 1, 2015.

Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine

Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine (CCOM) is a private, non-profit osteopathic medical school located in Downers Grove, Illinois, part of Midwestern University. CCOM grants the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine D.O. academic degree, and is fully accredited by the American Osteopathic Association's Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA).

Willie Pickens was an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and educator.

Chesterton Academy of The Holy Family is a Catholic high school located in Lisle, Illinois. The school is affiliated with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Joliet in Illinois.

Emily Temple-Wood American Wikipedia editor and medical student

Emily Temple-Wood is an American Wikipedia editor who goes by the name of Keilana on the site. She is known for her efforts to counter the effects and causes of gender bias on Wikipedia, particularly through the creation of articles about women in science. She was declared a joint recipient of the 2016 Wikipedian of the Year award, by Jimmy Wales, at Wikimania on June 24, 2016.

Michael Hornburg is an American writer and literary agent. He has published two novels: Bongwater (1995) and Downers Grove (1999), both of which have been adapted into feature films. He has also written for the Portland, Oregon publication The Portland Mercury.

Cris Beam is an American writer. She is the author of nonfiction books on transgender teenagers, the U.S. foster system, and empathy, as well as a young adult novel and a short memoir.

Brandy Colbert is an American author of young adult fiction and non-fiction, best known for her Stonewall Children's Award-winning novel Little & Lion.

References

  1. 1 2 "Downers Grove". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved January 22, 2017.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  2. Henley, Robin (August 1, 1999). "A Touching Look At Teens Coming Of Age In Downers Grove". The Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 22, 2017.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  3. Spiegel, Janel (October 26, 2015). "Interview: Author Michael Hornburg". Horror News. Retrieved January 22, 2017.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)