[LM_NET] SEC: BOOK REVIEW: Do Not Pass Go by Kirkpatrick Hill

[Toni Buzzeo <tonibuzzeo@TONIBUZZEO.COM>]

Do Not Pass Go by Kirkpatrick Hill (S&S/McElderry, 2007). ISBN: 9781416914006

Set in urban Alaska, Hill's novel brings to life a character worth 
knowing and a not-uncommon situation worth examining. Deet, a young 
teen whose parents have created a loving if somewhat financially 
strapped family life, encounters the challenge of his life when his 
father is arrested and jailed for drug possession and use.  In his 
haphazard struggle to make ends meet for his family of five, Deet's 
father turns to speed to allow him to work two blue collar jobs while 
simultaneously mismanaging the money he earns.  Deet, a reclusive and 
conscientious loner at school, fears the opinions of his wealthier 
classmates when his father's arrest is made public.  Yet, through the 
fictional device of an ongoing quotation-and-reflection journal in 
English class and his daily visits to his father in jail, we watch 
Deet's emotional growth and increasing intellectual grasp of crime, 
punishment, social ills, and human needs. Deet is a character it is 
impossible not to like--compulsive, earnest, loving, and 
generous.  Teens will root for him as he faces down his fears and 
comes to accept his parents' limitations and his own. They will also 
compare their Hollywood stereotypes of criminals and incarceration to 
those more complex characters and situations drawn by the author. 
[Suggested Grades: 6-9]


Toni Buzzeo, MA, MLIS <mailto:tonibuzzeo@tonibuzzeo.com>
Maine Library Media Specialist of the Year Emerita
Maine Association of School Libraries Board Member
Buxton, ME 04093
http://www.tonibuzzeo.com
Our Librarian Won't Tell Us ANYTHING! A Mrs. Skorupski Story, 
illustrated by Sachiko Yoshikawa (Upstart 2006) BRAND NEW! 

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