Unlocked

April 1, 2011

Gr 7 Up-When a rumor goes around that a fellow loner and outcast, Blake, has a gun in his locker, Andy is determined to confirm it. As the janitor's son, he has access to his father's keys and hopes that finding the gun will buffer him against the constant belittling at school and maybe get him the girl he desires. Instead, rifling through his classmate's locker and coming up empty-handed brings even more jeers. On the plus side, he forms an unlikely friendship with troubled Blake. As the friendship grows, Andy actually gets a chance to hold Blake's gun and finds himself tortured over the power he feels when firing it and knowing that it is wrong and dangerous. Written in a lyrical style, this short novel in verse explores Andy's inner turmoil in a clear, accessible manner with some powerful turns of phrase. The teen's questioning of his decision to keep the gun a secret and his conflicted feelings over finding a new friend who might harbor plans to kill are genuine and honest. The book is strong on insight into the lives of those bullied in high school. The suspenseful ending and short style make it an easy sell for reluctant readers.-Shawna Sherman, Hayward Public Library, CA

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2011
Grades 7-10 At 14 Andy hates his life. His father is the school janitor whom the other kids derisively call Mr. Clean andno surpriseAndy is dubbed Mr. Clean Junior, or CJ for short. Two years of anger therapy have done little to help the boy control his emotions, and he continues to feel his life is a twisted knot the size of a fist. A classic outsider, Andy befriends the schools other outsider, Blake, who also has father issues. His was killed in the Middle East, leaving him not only bereft but also angry. His solution to this is to begin carrying a gun that the boys use for target practice. The inevitable question is whether or not their fellow students will become their next targets. Writing in unrhymed verse, debut novelist Van Cleave addresses a situation that has, sadly, become only too familiar in American schools. While he brings little that is new to the situation, he writes with both empathy and authority.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)