Drive Me Crazy

December 15, 2013
Grades 6-9 In this third volume of the adventures of Kevin Keller, George Takei is coming to Riverdale, but Kevin is at a comic-book convention in Smithville and doesn't know he's about to miss his hero. But that's not the only story in this perennially cheery series entry: Kevin gets a car, but the upgrades the shop class gives it are a bit much. Elsewhere, he finds himself caught between his new boyfriend and a former secret admirer. There is a little tension when Kevin starts dating a young man who is still in the closet, but that is quickly glossed over to get back to the humor. Some of the jokes fall a bit flat (one about Veronica attending a comic-book convention comes too close to being a fake-geek-girl slam), but others are as timeless as Archie Comics themselves. Kevin Keller's tales are squeaky clean and optimisticKevin is a gorgeous hunk but also an adorable dork; Veronica can be a bit shallow, but she's ultimately a good friendand that's precisely their appeal.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)