Friday, October 16, 2015

How to Win at High School by Owen Matthews

HarperTeen, 2015

 I was tasked by a student recently that most of the books I booktalked did not have a guy as the main character….so I went in search of some and this book popped.  SO glad it did! 
 

Adam Higgs recently moved to a new school, Nixon Collegiate, a complete opposite of where he went.  BMWs and Mercedes are standard issue cars here, and the cliques prove who has it and who copies it.  Adam fits into neither category.  In fact, he fits into only one – the loser category.  He’s carried this burden since forever.  Unlike his uber popular little sister and his athlete god status in high school brother, Adam has never been able to climb higher.  It’s just not in him.  His days consist of going to school, hanging out with Brian, the only friend he has from his old school, and seeing his brother Sam, now in a wheelchair from an injury his senior year but living independently.  Sam relives his glory days through stories and tells Adam he needs to experience it before it’s all over, but how?

Adam finds his inspiration in the movie Scarface. Kicked around, Scarface rises to the top slowly to find glory.  With that in mind, Adam takes what little money he makes at the local pizza and buys new clothes.  And the first opportunity to make a name for himself happens in chemistry.  Sarah freaking Bryant is his lab partner and when an assignment comes up, he takes it upon himself to do the work for the goddess, but at a price ten bucks a page and 50 bucks for an A.  Hey, if these people have the money, Adam figures it’s a way to make some. 

Soon his homework business begins to take off and people begin to notice how Sarah, Rob, Jessie, Alton and the others are seen with Adam.  With the growth of his business, Adam figures he can do a little more to win at high school.  Soon the homework business turns into fake IDs, turns into booze, turns into….bad.

And just when Adam is at the top of his game, his empire begins to crumble with huge consequences….

For guys wanting a guy book, this one is it, hands down.  And yes, ANY reader who enjoys real life reads will quickly snap this book up. Seen from the perspective of a teen zero to hero, the reader walks beside him at home, at work and at school to see the entire picture of a day in the life of Adam from Day One to the end.  You’ll want to warn him of the danger ahead, but can only stand there and watch the train wreck happen.  And that’s what makes this book amazing.  The plot and is solid, the characters very believable and the lives of everyone involved isn’t contrite.  Pair it up with 1-2 pages a chapter, and it reads fast...a true page-turner.    
 
Book pair:  Playing with Matches by Brian Katcher

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