Thursday, December 29, 2016

Snow Job by Charles Benoit - NO

Benoit, Charles Snow Job, 274 pages.  Clarion (Houghton Mifflin), 2016.  $18.  Language: R (50+ swears, 0 ‘f’); Mature Content: R (drinking, weed, drug dealing); Violence: G.

Nick is a senior in high school and it looks like his life is going absolutely nowhere.  Just as he tries to change things for the better, or at least a different nothing, he gets lured into running drugs for an old adversary.  Not only is his life looking worse – he could also be looking at dead.

This book says that it is set in the late 1970’s, and there are a few references to the time period, but the year has no actual bearing or effect on the action or plot of the book – like someone had a list of things that were around in 1977, so they should refer to them.  I am mystified by this book it terms of its appeal or its actual plot– why do I want to read about a high school kid who is going absolutely nowhere with his life and the trouble he gets into while running drugs? I wouldn’t.  And if I really did want a plotless book with drugs in it, then I would choose John Green’s Looking for Alaska instead.

NOT RECOMMENDED.  Cindy, Library Teacher

2 comments:

Ms. Yingling said...

For a book about a high school senior, I preferred Coy's Gap Year. There were a few bad choices, but more character development.

Cindy Mitchell said...

Thanks for the heads up, Karen!