High and Dry
Gr 9 Up—Charlie Dixon, a last semester senior, floats through his life not caring about anything since he broke up with his girlfriend, Ellie. He has a drinking problem thanks to his grandfather, and spends much of his day slightly drunk. Unlike his class and teammates, he does not have to wonder where he will go to college; he knows he will be at the local college because his father works there and that his undergraduate years are already paid for. His lethargy, and an old grudge, makes him a perfect patsy. When he shows up uninvited—and drunk—to a choir party to confront Ellie about why she broke up with him, an ex-girlfriend drives him home. His keys are taken and when a camera catches his car dropping someone off at the hospital, he is set up for almost fatally drugging a girl with LSD. Thanks to his ex, he has an alibi, and she gets him involved in the search for a flash drive that contains her college essays. When he gets numerous messages from others willing to pay for the object, he realizes that there's more on the drive than essays. As Charlie gets knee-deep in shady dealings, he must start taking responsibility for his own actions. With a strong subtext about the dangers of test-driven curriculua, this novel will find an audience in most high schools.—Suanne B. Roush, formerly at Osceola High School, Seminole, FL