From School Library Journal
Grade 5-8. What 12-year-old Dean Matthews can't believe he has to do is keep a journal, a task cheerfully imposed upon him?on his birthday, no less?by his mother, with a nonnegotiable, someday-you'll-thank-me pronouncement. Dean resists with every fiber of his adolescent being, but his mother insists. What follows is a vivid, first-person account of a pivotal year in a young boy's life. Most critically, Dean's relationship with his best friend, Aaron, begins to crumble as Aaron comes under the influence of a troubled, older boy. Drugs and alcohol complicate matters, and Aaron's downward spiral is swift and, possibly, irreversible. Peer pressure sucks Dean into the maelstrom, with serious consequences, but his values are solid, his support system strong, and he survives to marvel at all the year has brought. And, ultimately, to start a new journal on his own?warming the cockles of his mother's heart and of all who believe in the power of real family values. Though the use of alternating type fonts is puzzling, the journal format lends immediacy to the narrative and allows for speedy delineation of character and plot. Dean's mother is a bit too smug, even from an adult perspective; Aaron's descent into delinquency is much too sudden; and Dean's recognition of it a bit too slow. Nonetheless, readers should have no trouble relating to the narrator, identifying with him, even pulling back from the brink with him. Fluid writing and abundant action make this a good read; credible characters allow its important, if rather obvious message to succeed.?Marcia Hupp, Mamaroneck Public Library, NY
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Kirkus Reviews
A 12-year-old gets a tutorial in the consequences of irresponsible behavior and the dangers of bad company in this earnestly cautionary novel. At his mother's behest, Dean keeps a journal of what turns out to be a traumatic year, beginning with a parental interview after he threatens his tattletale little sister and ending with a community service sentence for joy-riding with a drunk, high, underage driver. In between, his bike is stolen and the family dog gets run over--both consequences of his own carelessness--he is caught lying and shoplifting, and he watches his best friend Aaron and a new buddy drink beer, act stupid, and throw up. Newcomer Alford takes on a catalog of other issues too, as topical as ear-piercing and as timeless as dealing with bullies. The journal entries are only a pretext, readily abandoned; Dean's comments generally take up no more than a few lines at the head or tail of each chapter, and are mostly of the whiny variety, while the real stories emerge in the paragraphs of first-person narration. It's not entirely a tale of woe: Dean wins a student council seat, has a first date, and gains more wholesome friends, but some readers will wilt under the barrage of lessons. (Fiction. 10-12) --
Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
