High and Dry

March 1, 2014
In a noir-flavored mystery, a hard-drinking, tough-talking teen cracks a case and learns a lesson about getting--and getting over--the girl. Ever since Ellie Chen broke up with him, Charlie Dixon has been drunk and desperate. When he crashes Ellie's choir mate's party, flask in hand, his neighbor and ex-girlfriend, Bridget, drives him home. The next day, he learns from the police that a party guest overdosed on LSD, and Charlie himself is a suspect. Bridget offers him an alibi in exchange for his services in investigating a missing flash drive, and so begins a descent into the underground dealings at Palm Valley High. The goings-on--including drug dealing, sports betting and academic cheating--are seedy, and Charlie's narrative voice is full of hard-boiled similes and gripes: "She looked like a sad girl in search of a tragedy. I could steer her toward mine, but it would cost her a finder's fee." Palm Valley High's social tribalism has a similarly gritty-underground feel: To avoid bullying, students divide themselves into factions with intricate rules against upperclassmen-lowerclassmen interactions, and much of Charlie's investigation involves navigating this complex and larger-than-life political terrain. A dark, well-constructed mystery with a strong voice. (Mystery. 14-18)

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June 1, 2014

Gr 9 Up-Charlie Dixon, a last semester senior, floats through his life not caring about anything since he broke up with his girlfriend, Ellie. He has a drinking problem thanks to his grandfather, and spends much of his day slightly drunk. Unlike his class and teammates, he does not have to wonder where he will go to college; he knows he will be at the local college because his father works there and that his undergraduate years are already paid for. His lethargy, and an old grudge, makes him a perfect patsy. When he shows up uninvited-and drunk-to a choir party to confront Ellie about why she broke up with him, an ex-girlfriend drives him home. His keys are taken and when a camera catches his car dropping someone off at the hospital, he is set up for almost fatally drugging a girl with LSD. Thanks to his ex, he has an alibi, and she gets him involved in the search for a flash drive that contains her college essays. When he gets numerous messages from others willing to pay for the object, he realizes that there's more on the drive than essays. As Charlie gets knee-deep in shady dealings, he must start taking responsibility for his own actions. With a strong subtext about the dangers of test-driven curriculua, this novel will find an audience in most high schools.-Suanne B. Roush, formerly at Osceola High School, Seminole, FL

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2014
Grades 9-12 Charlie Dixon had it made: soccer star, great parents, loving girlfriend, and worry-free college acceptance. Then he's hit by an avalanche of problems. Heartsick about being dumped (and nursing a drinking problem), he leaves his car at a party and his previous ex drives him home. At the same time, a student trips out on LSD and is dumped at the hospital ER by someone driving Charlie's car. On top of all that, he is asked by his ex to find a flash drive that contains something that people at school seem desperate to have. Not enough? His best friend is mixed up in drug dealing, he's talked into throwing a soccer match, and peer pressure is about to make him explode. Skilton's latest covers a tense and complicated week during which Charlie must unravel relationships, desires, lies, and truths in order to clear his name, regain his sense of self, and set his world right again. Despite a slow start, loads of unlikable characters, and seemingly random events, the clues prove to be well placed, yielding a rich payoff.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)