Mr. 60%

May 15, 2017
A high school drug dealer learns some harsh truths.Matt Nolan has been doing the bare minimum to get by in school, and he's close to graduating with a grade average just above the state-mandated 60 percent. The only reason Matt shows up to school is to sling drugs to the teenage client pool that other drug dealers can't get to. The vice principal has plenty of circumstantial evidence against Matt and is frothing at the mouth to catch him red-handed, but the authorities don't know that Matt is using the proceeds to take care of his beloved uncle. Jack took Matt in when Matt had nowhere to go, and the pair lives in a cramped trailer while Jack slowly dies of cancer. The author weaves a desperate tale filled with money problems, emotional baggage, and a compelling central character. Unfortunately the peripheral characters are fairly thin. Uncle Jack is a kindhearted, proud guy and not much else. Amanda, the plus-sized pariah who befriends Matt, is a voice of support that stretches credulity. These thin characters and the cartoonishly evil vice principal conflict harshly with the author's exploration of Matt's isolationist complex. The novel is well-structured, moving quickly between beats but not rushing. This is a laser-focused book, interested in exploring fear and grief regardless of other shortcomings; casting his characters as white ensures that this focus remains fixed. An unbalanced but still effective tear-jerker. (Fiction. 14-17)

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July 1, 2017

Gr 9 Up-Matt is a second-semester high school senior who has made a career out of doing barely enough work to keep from failing out of school, earning him the titular nickname. But he's better known by his classmates as the go-to contact for weed and pills; he conceals "party bags" around the building and sells them to schoolmates. When a new school board regulation requires every senior to join at least one extracurricular activity, sadistic Vice Principal Gill thinks he's finally bested Matt. Then, through Helping Hands, a community service club, Matt meets Amanda, a social pariah who is collecting children's book donations for a local hospital. Through Matt's slowly developing relationship with sensitive Amanda, readers experience more of his personal life and learn why he sells and eventually begins smuggling drugs. The story is repetitive at times, and the characters frequently lapse into stereotypes. Coarse language, drug use, and frank depictions of terminal illness make this title better suited for mature readers. The chapters are brief, and the text is simple and direct. VERDICT Despite some shortcomings, this is a good choice for reluctant and struggling high school readers.-Bob Hassett, Luther Jackson Middle School, Falls Church, VA

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2017
Grades 8-11 As his high school's resident drug dealer, no one thinks much of Matt Nolan. He's even earned the nickname of Mr. 60% for his ability to do just well enough in class to avoid expulsion. No one knows that Matt is too busy earning money to take care of his terminally ill uncle to worry about grades. When the vice principal forces him to join an extracurricular or face expulsion, Matt is teamed with chatty Amanda, who is organizing book drives for inpatient children at the hospital. She becomes the friend Matt never knew he needed. Smith's story focuses on those usually outside the spotlight. Matt's struggle is visceralSmith has no qualms about showing readers the ugliness of cancer. It is heartbreaking to see Matt's relentless, yet futile drive to save his unclea drive that threatens to destroy Matt's own future. This raw, powerful story of unlikely friendship will hit readers at their very core, beckoning them to have empathy with those on the fringes.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)