Teen Tuesday: The Second Chance of Darius Logan by David F. Walker

Image: Scholastic Inc.

The Second Chance of Darius Logan by David F. Walker. 384 p. Scholastic Press/ Scholastic Inc., July, 2024 9781338826425. Review of arc courtesy of publisher. 

Life since being orphaned in "the attack" eight years earlier has not been easy for Darius Logan. He was abused by his uncle, then moved in and out of a series of foster homes. School went by the wayside as he struggled to survive. The struggle included petty theft and arrests. His caseworker is the only person in his life who sees any good in him. But even she cannot help when he's literally caught holding the bag in a drug bust. It wasn't just any drug though. It was eXXeLL, which if caught, carries a mandatory long prison sentence. The fact that Darius is under-age won't help him. The knowledge of this compels him to resist arrest, assault a police officer and flee. He is saved by none other than the superhero, Captain Freedom of the Super Justice Force.

Captain Freedom runs a program called Second Chance and proposes that Darius enter the program. This program is usually for ex-convicts, but Captain Freedom remembers Darius from a time before "the attack," when he was named Student of the Year. Not everyone is in favor of this, especially Chuck Maslon, who is rooting for Darius to fail.

While the novel's opening is quite atmospheric, the world building resorts to info-dumping as Darius goes through his training. Still, Darius is a likable character and slowly gains friends and trust in them and himself. 

This debut should have wide appeal in middle and high school libraries. I switched to reading it by ear about 2/3 of the way through and regretted the decision. The narrator's choice of voices and accents, though varied, did not appeal to me, especially his female voices, which were stereotypically simpering. 

Teen Tuesday: Layoverland by Gabby Noone

Image: Penguin Random House

Layoverland by Gabby Noone. 304 p. Razorbill/ Penguin Random House, January, 2020. 9781984836120. (Review of finished purchased copy.)

Teen Tuesday features Layoverland by Gabbie Noone. Our narrator in this superb debut is seventeen-year-old Bea, a snarky, prickly cynic who keeps everyone at arm's length and doesn't suffer fools lightly. She's ugly-crying in her car after a fight with her sister when she's hit head-on by another car. When she awakens, she's on a plane bound for...where now? She's wearing the unfortunate outfit she had on and her mascara is running but can't be wiped off. Turns out, Bea died instantly and is on board a plane headed for the afterlife. Only Bea has some unresolved issues and doesn't have a connecting flight to her final destination. She's stuck at the airport, has to sleep in an airport motel and all her food is encased in jello. She's been given a job and has to help thousands of souls find out what their unresolved issues are and help them move on before she herself can move on. To make matters worse, the dude who plowed into her is also stuck in Layoverland and it's Bea's job to help him move on. No way, Bea is determined to make him suffer. There's a problem though. He's very cute. 

So, this is a coming-of-age story even though the protagonist is dead. Hilariously funny and yet surprisingly deep and poignant. I just loved the voice in this sparkling debut. 

Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt

Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt. 186 p. Clarion/ Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, October, 2015. 9780544462229. (Purchased.)

Sixth grader, Jack Hurd relates the story of Joseph, the broken fourteen-year-old that his parents decide to foster. Joseph comes to the Hurds angry and withdrawn but they know how to handle angry and withdrawn. Mr. Hurd sets Joseph to work milking the cows even though Joseph has never been near a cow in his life, let alone milked one. For Jack, when Rosie the cow accepts Joseph immediately, that's all he needs to know. He just wishes that Joseph would stop calling him Jackie.

And that's all I'm going to say about this sad, powerful, not-to-be-missed tearjerker. Oh, there will be tears and quite possibly heaving sobs. I am officially gutted. I cannot talk about this book (and I have booktalked it) without tearing up. I cannot look at the cover without swallowing hard.

I swear, there are not many authors who can do what Gary D. Schmidt does in so few words. The economy, beauty, imagery and heart in his writing is astonishing. I would like to believe that I could identify his style in an auditory version of a blind taste test. In each book, he makes particularly effective use of repetition as a literary device.

I must admit that when I first heard the synopsis, my eyebrows rose. While I know that physically, it might be possible for a thirteen-year-old to father a child with another thirteen-year-old, how might one fashion a story around it without exploitation or sensationalism? (Or romanticism, even.) Leave it to Mr. Schmidt to craft such a story humanely.

Do not miss this. It's a must-purchase.