The Vigilante Poets of Selwyn Academy
Gr 8 Up—Ethan Andrezejczak is a junior at a Minnesota arts school that is hosting a competitive "reality" television show starring its students. Ethan strikes just the right note of teenage hesitancy and the shrug of paralyzed inaction so common to many stalled in the years leading to adulthood. Ethan tells the story about how he wound up attending the school, with his limited talent at drawing and music. His friends consist of the truly talented writer Luke, brainy Jackson, and stylishly dreadlocked Elizabeth. When their inspiring English teacher introduces them to Ezra Pound's Cantos, Luke composes a long poem that voices his outcry against the corrupting influence of the sleazy TV people capitalizing on their school's art and integrity. He pulls his friends into clandestine raids on the school's printing press and distributes his protest poem to the student body. Being a part of the reality show rebellion energizes Ethan, even though his crush, ballerina Maura, is one of the leading contestants. The group discovers just how deeply the school administration is in league with the show's producers, and a surprising betrayal leaves Ethan bewildered with little solace beyond the distractions of his zany preschool triplet sisters and a sickly gerbil that does tricks. With a quirky cast of characters set against a reality television invasion, the ample humor and realistic angst make this an enjoyable story.—Suzanne Gordon, Lanier High School, Sugar Hill, GA