The Cruisers

July 26, 2010
Four smart but underachieving students—Zander, LaShonda, Bobbi, and Kambui—at a Harlem school for the gifted and talented star in Myers’s (Sunrise over Fallujah) thought-provoking if occasionally heavy-handed first installment of the Cruisers series. Giving the quartet one last chance to shape up, the assistant principal issues them a challenge: while the other eighth graders are divided into Union and Confederate sympathizers for a study project, the Cruisers (named after an alternative newspaper they produce) are charged with negotiating peace. Tensions and tempers flare when students writing as “the Sons of the Confederacy” contribute a pro-slavery editorial to the official school paper (“I mean, there I was, black from locks to ’Boks, from dreads to Keds, but I just didn’t think much on it and now it was all up in my face,” thinks Zander). Through Zander’s levelheaded narration and editorials mostly written by the Cruisers, Myers explores freedom of speech, the role that race and the Constitution played in the 19th-century slavery debate, the moral implications of slavery, and the effectiveness of peaceful demonstration—a lot of food for thought for a slim novel. Ages 9–12.

October 1, 2010

Gr 5-8-Because of what they've written in their alternative newspaper, The Cruiser, four eighth-grade friends are given an assignment rather than suspension. Classmates at the DaVinci Academy, a school for talented and gifted students, Zander, LaShonda, Kambui, and Bobbi are to be peacekeepers during a Civil War unit and prevent another war from breaking out. They use their newspaper to raise awareness and eventually ease tensions between the opposing factions, a group of white athletes who call themselves Sons of the Confederacy and a large population of African-American students and others who don't want to associate themselves with racist sentiments. Adding to the tension is the threat of expulsion if the friends can't prevent the fighting; their grades have been slipping and the administration is beginning to doubt their dedication to such a prestigious and competitive school. In the end the group prevails, but an assignment asks them to consider what would have happened if there had been no Civil War, and the students are reminded of the complexity of the situation, then and now. Once again, Myers integrates difficult and significant conversations into his work. The Cruisers, the first in a promised series, is marketed to a younger crowd than Monster () or Shooter (), for example, but is no less honest and raw. The premise is promising. -Jennifer Miskec, Longwood University, Farmville, VA

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from September 1, 2010
Grades 5-8 *Starred Review* Though its a rather slim novel, the first in a presumed series, Myers latest is a finely crafted look at smart, urban underachievers. Eighth-grader Zander Scott and his friends are known as the Cruisers in their Harlem school for gifted and talented kids, primarily for being fine with Cs and not into that heavy competition thing. Theyve also started an unofficial newspaper, The Cruiser, that isnt explicitly designed to ruffle the school administrations feathers but has a knack for it anyway. A project on the Civil War splits the class into Union and Confederate sympathizers, and the Cruisers are tasked with trying to mediate a peace. Tempers flare as the school (perhaps unrealistically) allows the project to progress a bit too far, but that gives the kids a chance to get creative in their responses to racial tensions. Anytime Myers steps to the plate, you know theres a chance hell hit it out of the park. Although this book isnt the kind of towering shot he sometimes delivers, he legs it out by doing all the little things right: fleet pacing, a spot-on voice, good characters, great dialogue, smart ideas, and an unusual story that can maneuver whip-quick from light to heavy and right back again. An edifying book about wise kids stretching themselves without the sort of didacticism young readers are so good at sniffing out.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)