The books Bunting has written for her young adult audience have a commonality that characterizes them. Each is a fast-paced, easily-read novel that presents a contemporary problem (suicide, alienation from parents, peer pressure, a searching for self) that quickly engages the reader. Often there is the added element of mystery or intrigue and there is usually an involvement with romance. Bunting's resolutions reveal sensitivity and perception and demonstrate an understanding of the pressures exerted on many teen-agers today.

Two additional novels develop the theme of teen-age death found in A Sudden Silence. Face at the Edge of the World details how Charlie Curtis, a promising young writer anticipating college on a scholarship, shocks the community of Oceanside, California, by committing suicide. His best friend Jed is bewildered and hurt by Charlie's action, and he attempts to make sense of it by uncovering Charlie's motivation. As he...