Troop 142
Be warned: this is not a book to give to prospective Boy Scouts, and not a story about homesick children who learn the joys of community, new friendships, and never giving up. During a week in the life of Troop 142, two brothers and their father experience the conformist and sometimes dangerous principals of institutions and the often-brutal emotions young boys wield as weapons against one another. Though the two boys undergo various humiliations, and the father suffers his own inability to navigate relationships with a fellow counselor, the details are handled with effective realism, and nothing feels overblown or wantonly cruel; the camp is never portrayed as anything more grotesque than a place that simply breeds unfortunate group dynamics and moldering ideals. It is never inappropriately disturbing, and it’s all perfectly believable, right down to the profanity, homophobia, and experimental drug use, all cleverly illustrated with enough realism to give it weight but with rounded figures and minimalist features that tend to take off the sharpest edges. Grades 10-12. --Jesse Karp