Snow Job

December 15, 2015
Just as former "banger" Nick makes a vow to change his life, the boy he sent to jail is set free. The year is 1977, the place is upstate New York, and after spending most of high school with his fellow bangers, dressing in jeans and band T-shirts and hanging out at their friend Jay's house getting drunk, Nick is ready to become his own person. Following his new rules for himself--"STAND OUT. STAND UP. STAND BY. STAND FAST"--Nick goes to school in a shirt and tie, ditches a boring party with his friend Karla, and refuses to be cowed by a group of smarmy, silk-shirted "polys" trying to buy beer and cigarettes underage at the Stop-N-Go where he works. His resolve is tested, however, when he learns that Steve "Zod" Zodarecky, who went to jail five years earlier on Nick's testimony, has returned and is asking about him. Suspense ramps up quickly as Zod appears seemingly everywhere with offers Nick can't refuse. Quickly and inexorably, Nick is drawn into a lucrative and dangerous drug-dealing operation. Teaming up with Dawn, a girl involved with the dealers, Nick begins to plot an escape. Each drug run sizzles with tension, and myriad hidden agendas and double-crosses keep readers guessing until the end. Filled with nail-biting action and crackling with evocative detail. (Historical thriller. 14-18)

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January 1, 2016

Gr 9 Up-It's the end of 1977, and high school senior Nick is trying to reinvent himself. In his effort to become a better person, he makes a list consisting of four phrases to live by: Stand Up, Stand Out, Stand By, Stand Fast. Adhering to the list proves to be difficult when Zod, a lowlife from Nick's past, reappears and persuades Nick to deal drugs. Nick is able to convince himself that delivering cocaine is just a means to an end -a way to get enough money so he and his new crush, Dawn, can escape snowy upstate New York and move to Florida. Despite the danger and illegal nature of his activities, Nick comes to believe that he has achieved his metamorphosis into a better self through his drug deals. While the plot moves along quickly and will hold readers' interests and the characters are well drawn, there's a disconnect in the narrative. Nick's conviction that he has achieved his goals in the course of his drug running does not seem reasonable. At no point did he truly Stand Up, Stand Out, Stand By, or Stand Fast, and as such, his transformation feels hollow. Also, the cartoonish cover and large font will cause this to appeal to middle schoolers; however, it's largely about drugs and drinking (even the deceptive cover features a bag of cocaine). VERDICT An entertaining yet implausible read that teenagers will nonetheless enjoy.-Melissa Kazan, Horace Mann School, NY

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2016
Grades 9-12 How does a guy who doesn't steal or do drugs get mixed up with selling cocaine? Through deceit and sex, of course. When former drug honcho Zod walks out of prison and back into his life, Nick, who testified against him, knows it's bad news, but the person who proves far more dangerous is Dawn. Her edgy Joan Jett look gets under his skin immediately, and he finds he would do anything for hereven if it means double-crossing her abusive, drug-dealer boyfriend. Benoit's quiet, noir-tinged novel is largely devoted to sifting through Nick's thoughts and his efforts to reinvent his life. His disenchantment with being sorted into high-school cliquesbangers, polys, jocks, brainiacsprompts him to rebel against the crowd and start carving his own path in the world. It begins with a four-point list that guides his decisions, but can Nick stick to his new principles as things start spiraling out of control? Atmosphere and tension outweigh action, but the compelling way in which Benoit doles out details ensures that readers will plow straight through to the end.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)