This Is What I Did:
by Ann Dee Ellis

    THIS IS WHAT I DID: by Ann Dee Ellis
    Category:  Contemporary
    Age Recommendation:  Grades 9+
    Release Date:  7/1/07
    Publisher:  Little, Brown
    Reviewed by:  Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky"
    Rating:  5 Stars


    Zyler is gone. Logan is drowning in guilt. Will an attempt to make a new start really work?

    Logan is a different kid. He has twin younger brothers whose lives revolve around sports. His dad cares, but he’s
    busy. His mother is pregnant, something he’d rather not think too much about. They care, but they don’t know what
    to do to help him.

    Not a kid with lots of friends, Logan seems to manage to participate in life at a normal level. Boy Scouts offers him a
    chance to mingle with other boys his age, but most of them are bullies who use him for target practice. He does fairly
    well in school and is gutsy enough to try out for the school play and nail the greatest on-stage fight scene they’ve
    ever seen. He has friends (or at least acquaintances) that surround him and fill his life, but none like Zyler.

    Zyler and Logan had a special friendship. They rode bikes together, did projects together, heck, even liked the same
    girl together. They knew each others’ strengths and weaknesses. Logan even knew how Zyler’s father treated his
    son, but respected Zyler’s need for privacy.

    Once again, Zyler is now gone, and Logan’s family has chosen to move a short distance away to give Logan a fresh
    start. Hopefully a new school, new friends, and new activities will allow him to forget that night. Unfortunately, the
    guilt moved right along with Logan.

    Ann Dee Ellis uses a unique style of prose to take readers into the mind of Logan Paloney. There is a bit of a wait
    for readers to discover the exact cause of Logan’s oppressive guilt, but the journey is worth the effort. This
    disturbing story makes one wonder about the personal and private worlds of those around us. Logan’s actions could
    have changed the outcome of events in one person’s world, but is that a risk just anyone is willing to take?