Run the Risk

February 15, 2017
Life for a girl trying to make ends meet after high school becomes complicated when her ex-boyfriend, a gang member, re-emerges in her life.Grace works concessions in a Miami movie theater owned by a former gang member gone straight, and she volunteers at a Head Start pursuing her dream of working in early childhood education. When her ex Mateo shows up as the theater security guard, done with the gang that was the reason for their breakup, the two immediately feel the heat again. Grace is worried about her younger brother, Alex, who seems to be getting involved in the Locos. Grace asks Mateo to try to protect Alex and get him out of the gang. While pursuing a career as a paramedic, Mateo agrees and is unusually adept at knowing when to intervene. Diversity abounds. In addition to Latino Mateo, biracial Grace has Latina heritage on her mother's side (her dad is white), and most of her friends and workmates are brown; savagely feminist Feenix is a special treat. Van Diepen knows her audience. There's much excitement around attending a Pitbull concert with Nayer and Mohombi opening. The cute day care kids balance the boozy after-work parties, casual cursing, and underlying lust, just as the poetry creates a tonal counterpoint to the gang plotline. It's fast-paced, telenovela-style drama with dance parties, poetry slams, fights, blackmail, and life-threatening peril. (Fiction. 14-18)

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March 1, 2017

Gr 9 Up-Grace is in love with Mateo-deeply, agonizingly in love. But when Mateo chooses gang life over his relationship with her, Grace knows she has to let him go. She's moved on and is struggling to keep her brother out of gang life, all while working a full-time job, volunteering at the local day care center, and taking online courses. Then Mateo is hired as the new security guard at the theater where Grace works. Seeing him brings back a rush of pain, resentment, and more than a little bit of love. Mateo claims he's done with gangs for good, but can he be trusted? Van Diepen's story about two teens facing the complexities of love amid gang life and family problems is fast-paced, enticing, and sexy, but it does have some characterization and narrative flaws. While Grace and Mateo are interesting and compelling protagonists, several of the secondary characters feel flat and could have used more development. The parents are rarely mentioned and are seen only briefly, without much explanation as to why they don't play a larger role in the problems their children are confronting. Much of the central plot is revealed only near the end of the novel and feels rushed, leaving the conclusion just partially resolved. Despite its faults, this title will appeal to teens who enjoy an easy, realistic read with elements of romance and intrigue. VERDICT Purchase where the author's books are popular.-Tabitha Nordby, Red River College, Man.

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