Sticks and Stones

Darleen R. Golke is a high-school teacher-librarian in Winnipeg,
Manitoba.

The fifth and sixth volumes in Maxwell Macmillan’s
high-interest/low-vocabulary Series 2000 focus on female heroines.

In Hit and Run, Amy “Good Girl” Jennings is pressured by her
friend, Dez, and by the boy she admires, Roy, into sneaking off to an
illicit party at Roy’s house to celebrate student elections. When the
police, alerted by neighbors, arrive at the front door, Amy, having
reluctantly drunk her first bottles of beer, allows Dez to persuade her
to run and drive them home. Amy drives carefully, mindful of her promise
to her estranged father never to drink and drive, until Dez grabs the
wheel and stomps on the gas. As the car skids across the wet, slippery
pavement, Amy hears a thud and realizes she has hit something. When she
stops to check, Dez hysterically insists on being taken home, so Amy
leaves the scene of the accident. In the next few days, Amy vacillates
between denial and guilt. The “something” she hit was police officer
David LaRonde, who lies in intensive care. Finally, she confesses, in
spite of her fears that her actions might destroy her parent’s fragile
attempts to reconcile.

In Sticks and Stones, 15-year-old “Jujube” (Trudy) Gelb finally
lands a dance date with heart-throb Brent, nicknamed Mr. Warp Speed.
Brent maneuvers her into the back seat of the car, but seems to accept
her refusal to help him maintain his reputation. However, the next few
days show Jujube that Brent’s apparent acceptance has resulted in her
becoming the subject of malicious gossip at the high school. “Slut”
is one of the kinder descriptions Jujube finds among the graffiti
decorating the girls’ and boys’ washrooms. In spite of her anger and
fear, Jujube finds a way of facing her tormentors and repairing not only
her own damaged reputation but also that of other girls in the school
who have faced similar smear campaigns. In the process, she finds new
friends and forms new relationships.

As is characteristic of the hi-lo genre, the plots of both books
develop quickly and the characters are sketched with little depth. Both
books present familiar “problem” themes: dysfunctional families,
lack of self-confidence, the need to belong and be accepted,
relationships with parents and other adults, and peer pressure. Despite
their weaknesses, the success of this series in encouraging reluctant
readers makes these stories welcome additions, especially to junior-high
and senior-high collections. Recommended.