In the first volume of a planned quartet, Myers introduces eighth graders Zander, LaShonda, Bobbi and Kambui, students at Da Vinci Academy, a middle school for the gifted and talented in Harlem, and staff of The Cruiser , an alternative to the school newspaper. The masthead on The Palette reads, "Education is a journey on the high seas of life . " Zander and the Cruisers say, "We weren't on a journey, we were just cruising." But when their history teacher invents a role-playing exercise dividing students into Union versus Confederate sympathizers, with Zander and company as peace negotiators, Zander doesn't think much about it until the Confederates' editorials in The Palette turn offensive. "Black from locks to 'Boks, from dreads to Keds," Zander gets involved. Can a school newspaper print such inflammatory articles? Is it free speech? What is the proper response? A serious issue and a group of smart, likable protagonists make this an enjoyable inaugural volume, and readers will look forward to further tales of Zander and his friends as they navigate the high seas—or Cs, in Zander's case—of middle-school life. (Fiction. 9-13)

Starred Review Though it's a rather slim novel, the first in a presumed series, Myers' latest is a finely crafted look at smart, urban underachievers. Eighth-grader Zander Scott and his friends are known as the Cruisers in their Harlem school for gifted and talented kids, primarily for being fine with Cs and not into "that heavy competition thing." They've also started an unofficial newspaper, The Cruiser, that isn't explicitly designed to ruffle the school administration's feathers but has a knack for it anyway. A project on the Civil War splits the class into Union and Confederate sympathizers, and the Cruisers are tasked with trying to mediate a peace. Tempers flare as the school (perhaps unrealistically) allows the project to progress a bit too far, but that gives the kids a chance to get creative in their responses to racial tensions. Anytime Myers steps to the plate, you know there's a chance he'll hit it out of the park. Although this book isn't the kind of towering shot he sometimes delivers, he legs it out by doing all the little things right: fleet pacing, a spot-on voice, good characters, great dialogue, smart ideas, and an unusual story that can maneuver whip-quick from light to heavy and right back again. An edifying book about wise kids stretching themselves without the sort of didacticism young readers are so good at sniffing out.

Four smart but underachieving students%E2%80%94Zander, LaShonda, Bobbi, and Kambui%E2%80%94at a Harlem school for the gifted and talented star in Myers%E2%80%99s (Sunrise over Fallujah) thought-provoking if occasionally heavy-handed first installment of the Cruisers series. Giving the quartet one last chance to shape up, the assistant principal issues them a challenge: while the other eighth graders are divided into Union and Confederate sympathizers for a study project, the Cruisers (named after an alternative newspaper they produce) are charged with negotiating peace. Tensions and tempers flare when students writing as %E2%80%9Cthe Sons of the Confederacy%E2%80%9D contribute a pro-slavery editorial to the official school paper (%E2%80%9CI mean, there I was, black from locks to %E2%80%99Boks, from dreads to Keds, but I just didn%E2%80%99t think much on it and now it was all up in my face,%E2%80%9D thinks Zander). Through Zander%E2%80%99s levelheaded narration and editorials mostly written by the Cruisers, Myers explores freedom of speech, the role that race and the Constitution played in the 19th-century slavery debate, the moral implications of slavery, and the effectiveness of peaceful demonstration%E2%80%94a lot of food for thought for a slim novel. Ages 9%E2%80%9312. (Aug.)

The "Cruisers," a group of friends at a gifted and talented middle school in Harlem, are assigned the task of negotiating peace in a school-wide historical re-enactment of the Civil War--before the war starts. Protagonist Zander's breezy narration lends accessibility to Myers's consistently solid writing and thought-provoking themes.

Gr 5-8 Because of what they've written in their alternative newspaper, The Cruiser , four eighth-grade friends are given an assignment rather than suspension. Classmates at the DaVinci Academy, a school for talented and gifted students, Zander, LaShonda, Kambui, and Bobbi are to be peacekeepers during a Civil War unit and prevent another war from breaking out. They use their newspaper to raise awareness and eventually ease tensions between the opposing factions, a group of white athletes who call themselves Sons of the Confederacy and a large population of African-American students and others who don't want to associate themselves with racist sentiments. Adding to the tension is the threat of expulsion if the friends can't prevent the fighting; their grades have been slipping and the administration is beginning to doubt their dedication to such a prestigious and competitive school. In the end the group prevails, but an assignment asks them to consider what would have happened if there had been no Civil War, and the students are reminded of the complexity of the situation, then and now. Once again, Myers integrates difficult and significant conversations into his work. The Cruisers , the first in a promised series, is marketed to a younger crowd than Monster () or Shooter (), for example, but is no less honest and raw. The premise is promising. Jennifer Miskec, Longwood University, Farmville, VA