Tom Layton

Nobody Talks About Kellie Jean Tom Layton

Time/Life Magazine asked a student at Central Junior High about the incident involving her former classmate, Kellie-Jean Poppleton.

The student, who declined to give her name, had nervously replied, "Nobody talks about Kellie-Jean! Nobody wants to draw attention to themselves. We're all scared..."

Time/Life Magazine reporters went to two campuses: Central Junior High and Conrad Noll Middle School, to interview students and faculty about the incidents of the previous December, which had drawn national attention to this relatively quiet, middle-class Northern California community of 65,000 citizens.

They came away with more questions than answers.

About the Author

Tom Layton is an educator by way of Simi Valley, California, Seattle, and Sun City West, Arizona. He is originally from Anaconda, Montana..

Tom Layton became intrigued with the true story this book is based upon after coming across it in the news just a few days after the initial events unfolded. Months later, he began using the facts of the incident to educate his own students in the consequences of negative peer pressure, substance abuse, and improper peer relations. Nobody Talks About Kellie-Jean illustrates the domino effects of these behaviors.

Thirty-two years after first reading the news story, Tom Layton has created a work of fiction, honoring the victim of the real life event Nobody Talks About Kellie-Jean is based upon.