Us Kids Know

August 1, 2017

Gr 9 Up-Realistic and angsty, this debut novel brings readers into a world of teenage crises. Brielle and Ray O'Dell are siblings, and both of them are thinking about how and whether they belong in their respective circles. Bri is debating her friendships with the "popular" girls and how she really fits into that equation. Ray, bullied and contemplative, is suffering through an existential crisis and devouring as many texts as his Catholic school teachers can recommend while questioning his faith. Enter Cullen Hickson, a senior at the all-boys school that Ray attends who flings himself into the lives of the O'Dell siblings and brings them down a path of excitement and peril. The danger increases until one event spirals them out of the control. Strong has set this novel in the early 2000s, just a year after the September 11 terrorist attacks, and there are many references to this event as well as popular culture of the time that may distract some unfamiliar with the era but won't completely derail the reading experience. Some of Ray and Bri's choices seem hard to believe because they feel out of character, but often their actions are reflective of the issues they are facing at home. Some of their antics aren't always met with appropriate consequences. VERDICT Gritty and dramatic, this is an additional purchase for large realistic fiction collections.-Megan Huenemann, Norris High School, Firth, NE

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2017
Siblings Ray and Brielle are enthralled when they encounter older, daring misfit Cullen, who attends the same private Catholic school as Ray.High school sophomore Brielle drifts complacently in the wake of her popular, cookie-cutter friends, while her younger brother, Ray, is brutally bullied at St. John's, their psychiatrist father's alma mater. Ray endures this abuse in believable silence, hiding it from his family, especially his chronically depressed mother. It seems likely her illness contributes to his own despairing thoughts, which are underpinned with religious doubt. Told in alternating narrative style by the three teens, this provocative, unsettling story set in the suburbs of New York City in the year after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks plumbs the depths of Ray's disillusionment as he prevails upon Cullen to help him participate, along with his only friend, caring, self-possessed Amir, in increasingly dangerous criminal acts. Meanwhile, the magnetic romance and sexual experiences Brielle has with Cullen provide a way for her to challenge her parents' conflict avoidance. Cullen's home life is also explored, though his buoyant, unflappable exterior plays a bit too heavily into a diamond-in-the-rough stereotype at times. All of the major characters are white except for Amir, whose family is from Saudi Arabia. A gripping, tragic debut novel that will fascinate and trouble sophisticated teen readers. (Fiction. 14-18)

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