Book and Film ***spoilers***

First of all, if you have not read the novel by Richard Peck, I encourage you to do so. Although there are several differences between the book and film, reading the original source material will make the points in the film much more clear.

The book is set in Connecticut, and the book opens with Gail and Steve (who have been dating for about a year) on their way to the Lawver's house as a favor to Alison. In the first chapter, you get a sense of how important, powerful and influential Phil's family is in Oldfield Village. The Lawvers were among the first settlers in the area. Gail and Alison moved to the town from New York as kids, which means they don't quite "fit in". Steve's family has in fact been serving the Lawvers for years; his father is a plumber, his mother's cousin is one of the Lawver's maids.

Gail's parents are opposed (well, I guess just her mother, really) to her relationship with Steve (apparently that he's very intelligent, a straight A student doesn't qualify him to date her daughter). Alison has pinned all her hopes on marrying Phil, who seems indifferent to her at times.

When Gail begins receiving the notes she and Steve have been intimate for a while. Madame Malevich is in fact the high school drama teacher; Sonia is a unique and mysterious presence in the school, living in her own little world.

After she is raped, Gail opts not to press charges, having been warned what she's up against (before rape shield laws came along). So she has to go back to school and face Phil, and hopefully get through to Alison, but not before Sonia is attacked and left for dead. Gail knows immediately that it was Phil. She also realizes that she and Steve have drifted apart, and that they were meant to be friends, and nothing more.

As with the end of the movie, Phil is gone from town, but nobody knows where he went, except for rumors swirling.

The book also raises good points about the law being wrong in protecting the rapist rather than the victim.

I thought Kathleen Beller was a good choice for Gail. Scott Columby was okay as Steve, but as a reviewer on this site pointed out, Scott Jacoby probably would have been better in the role and more believable. In fact, Jacoby would have been much closer to the physical description of Steve in the book. The rest of the cast did very well in their roles.