“Rx,” by Tracy Lynn (Simon Pulse, 272 pages, $6.99)
Here’s an eye-opener for parents and adolescents smug at remaining above marijuana and other common street drugs. Prescription drugs are routinely abused by teenagers (and adults) who often become addicted to Ritalin, Valium, Adderall and other widely prescribed medications.
In “Rx,” author Lynn, familiar with this problem from personal experience, mercilessly shows how teenagers find it easy (and, they think, safe) to get prescription drugs from adults’ medicine cabinets or other students. Lynn illustrates this insidious temptation through high-achieving but self-doubting student Thyme Gilcrest, who starts popping Ritalin because it helps her “feel razor-sharp and witty,” and able to concentrate on her homework.
Thyme rationalizes her increasing dependence on drugs as her grades improve, and she starts dealing on the sly, swapping pills she pilfers from the purses of parents visiting her home for parties. When a colleague gets busted for selling dope, Thyme’s reaction is mixed:
“He got caught, and I didn’t,” she thinks. “Not that I’m exactly a dealer. I never do it with illegal drugs and almost never for money. … Maybe (he got caught) because he wasn’t quite as smart about it as me.”
Arresting and credible, “Rx” is a must-read for teenagers and their parents. Ages 12 and up.
“The Report Card,” by Andrew Clements (Aladdin, 192 pages, $5.99)
In a very different vein, fifth-grade honors student Nora Rose Rowley deliberately sets out to earn dreadful grades. Though she’s enormously bright – she covertly accesses college-level courses online – Nora calculates how to score just well enough on tests to escape the attention of teachers and the highly gifted-and-talented coaches.
Dismayed when her friend Stephen loses hope after scoring unremarkable results – not purposefully – on an IQ test, Nora embarks on a campaign to show adults that they’re overemphasizing grades and intellect.
Her questions are relevant for children and parents. Should gifted-and-talented children receive special treatment? What if they just want to be handled like normal kids? Should a bright child be pushed into accelerated programs? Ages 8 to 12.
“Small Steps,” by Louis Sachar (Delacorte Press, 272 pages, $16.95)
The companion to the Newbery Award-winning “Holes” puts the spotlight on Armpit and X-Ray, minor characters in the first novel.
Armpit befriends Ginny, a disabled girl, as he tackles both summer school and a brutal job digging trenches. Armpit’s plan to save his earnings is derailed on the arrival of X-Ray and X-Ray’s scheme to get rich by scalping concert tickets.
The boys’ peculiar intersection with a popular singer – the same headliner whose tickets they’re scalping – feels a tad pat, but Sacher keeps the story moving briskly. As “Holes” did, “Small Steps” raises questions of race, ethics, trust and control en route to an ending that’s convincing, fair and satisfying. Ages 10 and up.
“Copper Sun,” by Sharon Draper (Atheneum, 320 pages, $16.95)
While Sharon Draper’s story of an African girl trapped and sold into slavery never hesitates to make a point with a hammer instead of a scalpel, it brings up issues typically skirted by other young adult novels about slaves.
Robbed of her family, her independence and her African name, young Amari finds herself sold to the highest bidder, who wants a special gift for his son’s 16th birthday. Appalled, dishonored and desperate, Amari is snared in a hopeless life that includes rape and child abuse. What Draper lacks as a subtle writer, she recoups with stories culled from her exhaustive research of a shameful aspect of this country’s past. Ages 14 and up.
