Don't Look Behind You is a 1990

1990 in literature

The year 1990 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*J. K. Rowling gets the idea for Harry Potter while on a train ride from Manchester to London. She says "I was staring out the window, and the idea for Harry just came. He appeared in my mind's eye, very fully formed...

 young adult thriller novel by Lois Duncan

Lois Duncan

Duncan is best known for her novels of suspense for teenagers. Some of her works have been adapted for the screen, the most famous example being the 1997 film I Know What You Did Last Summer, adapted from her novel of the same title...

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Plot summary

Because of April's father's work in the Federal Investigation Bureau

Federal Investigation Bureau

The Federal Criminal Police Office was created in Austria as a federal police force to effectively combat crime nationwide and to perform international police cooperation functions. This happened in 2002 with a special law called the Federal Investigation Bureau Law . The .BK is also sometimes...

, a hitman in a black camaro is after her family so they have to be put under the Federal Witness Protection Program. April and her family have to try to elude the killer with little success when she drives out to try and live with her gramdmother again.

Places

Multiple real places are a key part to the novel. The rural areas in the novel are the outskirts of eastern Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

 and to the south of Washington D.C.. The cities in the novel are Richmond

Richmond, Virginia

Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...

, Petersburg

Petersburg, Virginia

Petersburg is an independent city in Virginia, United States located on the Appomattox River and south of the state capital city of Richmond. The city's population was 32,420 as of 2010, predominantly of African-American ethnicity...

 and Williamsburg

Williamsburg, Virginia

Williamsburg is an independent city located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, USA. As of the 2010 Census, the city had an estimated population of 14,068. It is bordered by James City County and York County, and is an independent city...

 in Virginia; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...

; Durham, North Carolina

Durham, North Carolina

Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Durham County and also extends into Wake County. It is the fifth-largest city in the state, and the 85th-largest in the United States by population, with 228,330 residents as of the 2010 United States census...

 and Grove City

Grove City, Florida

Grove City is a census-designated place in Charlotte County, Florida, United States. The population was 2,092 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Punta Gorda Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Grove City is located at ....

 and St. Augustine

St. Augustine, Florida

St. Augustine is a city in the northeast section of Florida and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorer and admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, it is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city and port in the continental United...

 in Florida. Other places in the novel are the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport

Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport

Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport is an airport located between Bradenton and Sarasota, Florida. The airport is shared by both Manatee County and Sarasota County . Most airlines refer to the airport on destination maps and flight status displays as just "Sarasota", as that is the more...

 and Disney World.

Awards

The novel won the Tennessee Volunteer State Book Award in 1991 and 1993, the Iowa High School Book Master List in 1992, the Virginia Young Readers Program Award in 1992, the Indiana Young Hoosier Award in 1992, and the Texas Lone Star Reading List in 1991. The novel was nominated for the Washington Evergreen Young Adult Book Award in 1992, the Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award in 1991 and 1992, and the Illinois Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Award in 1995.

Reception

In an interview with Lois Duncan, the interviewer said that the book was challenged for its immorality, graphic references, and sexual references. Lois Duncan thinks that it may have been a mix-up because there is only one part of the novel where it gets close to a sex scene.

Television movie

The book was adapted into a 1999 television film. The film was directed by David Winning

David Winning

David Winning is a Canadian and American dual Citizen film and television director, screenwriter, producer, editor, and occasional actor. Although Winning has worked in numerous film and TV genres, his name is most commonly associated with science fiction, thrillers and drama.-Biography:Winning...

 and stars Patrick Duffy

Patrick Duffy

Patrick George Duffy is an American character actor of stage and film. He is best known for his role on the CBS television drama Dallas, where he played Bobby Ewing from 1978 to 1985 and from 1986 to 1991, Duffy returns to reprise his role as Bobby in a new up-to-date Dallas currently scheduled to...

, Pam Dawber

Pam Dawber

Pam Dawber is an American actress best known for her lead television sitcom roles as Mindy McConnell in Mork & Mindy and Samantha Russell in My Sister Sam .-Life and career:...

 and Dominic Raake.

Differences between the novel and the film

• In the novel, April is the central character; she narrates the story from her own POV. In the film, April's dad is the main character.

• In the novel, April's father is named George Bramwell Corrigan, Senior. In the film, his name is Jeff Corrigan.

• In the novel, April's sweetheart is named Steve. In the movie, his name is Stef.

• In the novel, April and Steve part and she dates another boy whose name is not given. In the movie, April and Stef are reunited

• In the novel, April's mom is a writer of books for children and teens. In the movie, she works at a company.

• None of the FBI Agents from the novel - Max Barber, Tom Geist, Jim Peterson - are mentioned in the film.

• In the novel, the hitman is named Mike Vamp. This name was changed for the film.

Connection with daughter Kaitlyn

The book is based on Lois Duncan's daughter Kaitlyn's personality. Kaitlyn was shot to death shortly after the book was published while riding home from her friend's house. Lois Duncan believes that Don't Look Behind You was a premonition of her daughter's death. Like the main character of the novel, Kaitlyn was chased by a hired gunman that resembled the killer that was on the cover of a paperback version.

The death of her daughter made her want to write the non-fiction book Who Killed My Daughter?

Who Killed My Daughter?

Who Killed My Daughter? is a 1992 non-fiction book by Lois Duncan. It is mainly about Duncan's search for her daughter's murderer. 18-year-old Kaitlyn Arquette was shot to death on July 16, 1989 while coming home from a friend's house...

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