When star basketball player Robert Washington and his three closest friends mix drinking and driving in a postgame victory celebration, Robert is killed in an auto accident. The driver, Andy Jackson, is unable to resolve his feelings of guilt and remorse. Neither Andy's parents nor his psychologist accurately perceive the depth of Andy's depression, with tragic results--Andy, at the end, commits suicide. The story emerges through newspaper articles, journal entries, homework assignments, letters, and conversations that give the book immediacy; the teenage conversational idiom is contemporary and well written. Andy's perceptions of the racism directed toward young black males--by teachers, guidance counselors, and clerks in shopping malls--will be recognized by African American YAs. Although some heavy-handed didacticism detracts from the novel's impact, the characters and their experiences will captivate teen readers. The novel is also suitable for use in curricular units dealing with alcohol abuse, suicide, and racism. (Reviewed November 1, 1994)

Written in the form of conversations, journals, letters, and homework assignments, the book contains students' reactions to a high school basketball star's death in an automobile accident. Similar in format to Avi's 'Nothing but the Truth' (Orchard), the book is occasionally awkward, but it is intense and truthful in its exploration of suicide, drinking, and other potent issues.

A high school basketball star struggles with guilt and depression following the drunk-driving accident that killed his best friend. Short chapters and alternating viewpoints provide """"raw energy and intense emotion,"""" said PW. Ages 12-up. (Feb.)

Gr 9 Up--A hard-hitting story of the unraveling of a young black man who was the drunk driver in an accident that killed his best friend. Andy cannot bear his guilt or reach out for help, and chapter by chapter his disintegration builds to inevitable suicide. Counselors, coaches, friends, and family all fail him. The story is artfully told through English class assignments, including poetry; dialogues; police and newspaper reports; and letters. From time to time, the author veers off into overt lessons on racial issues, but aside from this flaw the characters' voices are strong, vivid, and ring true. This moving novel will leave a deep impression.--Kathy Fritts, Jesuit High School, Portland, OR