LIE

Starred review from July 4, 2011
Bock's (Confessions of a Carb Queen) first YA novel is a smart, topical story about a racially motivated hate crime, its far-ranging consequences, and the community determined to keep it under wraps. Skylar Thompson, a sensitive and complex loner, is deeply reliant on her boyfriend, Jimmy Seeger, a cocky, clean-cut jock. Shortly before their high school graduation, Jimmy and his best friend Sean are arrested for the vicious beating of Arturo Cortez, a young El Salvadoran mason, who subsequently dies of his injuries. Charismatic but cruel, Jimmy has been leading a gang that goes "beaner-hopping" on Saturday nights, assaulting Latinos for sick thrills. Skylar, who witnessed Jimmy's unprovoked attack on Arturo, suffers a crisis of conscience over whether to cover for her boyfriend; the lies Skylar and others are pressured to tell cut through the town like the Long Island Expressway the title plays on. Avoiding preachiness, Bock handles the novel's multiple viewpoints exceptionally well, rotating among the painfully believable voices of high school students and adults. Her characters may keep the truth inside, but their story reads like a confessional. Ages 12âup.

Starred review from July 1, 2011

This effective, character-driven, episodic story examines the consequences of a hate crime on the teens involved in it.

Bock focuses mainly on Skylar, a shy girl, and on her loyalty to her boyfriend Jimmy, whom readers soon learn has beaten a Salvadoran immigrant to death. Although Jimmy's in jail, the police have little evidence against him. "Everybody knows. Nobody's talking," runs the mantra among the high-school crowd that knows full well Jimmy beats up Latinos every Saturday night. The author alternates short chapters written from different characters' points of view. Readers get to know the involved teenagers and their families, as well as the victim, his brother and their mother. By portraying, simply and without comment, the reactions of the various characters, the author conveys the horror of the crime and the devastating effects on all involved, including those responsible. Sean, Jimmy's best friend and companion on the fateful night, can't deal with his guilt but also knows he dare not tell the truth. Lisa Marie sticks by Jimmy with no doubts. Skylar never doubts her love for Jimmy but faces a difficult choice when it transpires that the truth must come from her, or it will not come out at all.

Realistic and devastatingly insightful, this novel can serve as a springboard to classroom and family discussions. Unusual and important. (Fiction. 12 & up)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

Starred review from September 1, 2011

Gr 7 Up-Skylar's life hasn't been the same since her mother died of cancer. The only bright light has been her relationship with her boyfriend, Jimmy, a Scholar-Athlete of the Year, but now he stands accused of assaulting two Salvadoran immigrants and she is the prime witness. The full story slowly comes into focus through the many different perspectives of people in a Long Island town that has seen its demographics change dramatically in recent years. Meanwhile, 18-year-old Skylar navigates her precarious position. As she puts the pieces together and ponders her own future, can she speak out against her boyfriend? And should she? Bock successfully captures a range of voices in addition to Skylar's, from teens close to the perpetrator to the victim's family and community members and richly develops this ripped-from-the-headlines tale. Within the larger picture of tension around illegal immigration is the lesser-known practice of "beaner-hopping," in which teens attack suspected illegal immigrants as a sick sort of sport. While readers are not given direct insight into Jimmy's views, he comes to life as a multifaceted person who unfortunately inherited many of his father's grudge-laden, bigoted opinions. Bock's debut will grip readers searching for complete realism in their fiction.-Jennifer Barnes, Malden Public Library, MA

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from November 15, 2011
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* The local teens call it beaner hopping, an ugly phrase that translates as harassing and even assaulting Latinos. It's a weekend ritual that's regarded as harmless fun until the Saturday that things go terribly wrong and two young Latinos wind up in the hospital, one of them near death. The teens involved in the incident, a tightly knit coterie of popular kids, must then decide which is preferablea lie or the truth. The decision is complicated by the inevitable tangle of love and friendship that pervades life in this small Long Island community dealing with significant socioeconomic change. Bock has written a noir novel of intolerance and ethnic hatred that is both atmospheric and authentic. Told in a variety of first-person voices, the novel captures the ethos of a place where kids have been friends their whole lives and yet can still be surprised by revelations uprooted by the stressful threat of accountability. As the realities of the teens' interior lives are gradually revealed, the result is psychologically acute and dramatic, leaving readers to wonder if any of them will make the right choice. Suspenseful and thought provoking, this is a compellingly readable novel with a challenging theme and memorable characterizations. A terrific choice to spark discussion and debate.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)