He wants to be stopped. The teenage voices in this story sound like those interviewed on the nightly news about the latest high-school shootings. Fifteen students in a suburban high school speak in short poetic monologues, which are very easy to read. They are all troubled; some have a suppressed rage that could explode. Tran feels boxed in by his immigrant father's dreams; Kelli is trying to break with her macho boyfriend, Damon; Allison, who is being sexually abused by her stepdad, is ready to kill; David retreats and watches violent videos; Joseph is sick of his parents' passivity; Lester is always the bully's victim. At the center is Boyd, violent, racist, desperate, encouraged by an adult to join the Brotherhood and build an arsenal of guns and chemicals. Boyd makes a list of everybody who ever blew me off, flipped me off, or pissed me off. The students hear about the list. The power is in the feeling of violence brewing. Who will be drawn in? Boyd even warns his favorite people to stay home first period on Tuesday. That's when someone realizes that Boyd wants you to stop him. Will someone tell the authorities before it's too late? The ending is too hopeful; too many problems are solved. But Koertge avoids simplistic therapy, and the dramatic monologues are spare, poetic, and immediate, great for readers' theater and opening group discussion. See the Read-alikes on the opposite page for books about outsiders and violence in contemporary high schools.

Fifteen students representing extremes of teenage social problems (alienation, race issues, teen sex, etc.) bring their high school experience to life in this collection of free verse, culminating in a Columbine-type massacre only barely averted. The characterization is so thin that the students become their issues, and the verse is unremarkable, but with such potent ingredients the result is powerful.

In a series of free-verse poems, Koertge ( Heart of the City , 1998, etc.) sketches out both a large cast of teenagers and an issues-heavy tale of high-school violence narrowly averted. As 15 Branston High seniors, few of them speaking up enough to become distinct characters, make out, break up, and complain about shiftless/demanding/evangelical/too-familiar fathers, classmate Troy adds names to a private list, and stockpiles guns at home, nerving himself for an "apocalypse"—a word he can't always even pronounce. Finally, he gives his intentions away so openly that three teens (with some difficulty) arouse the local police, and another Columbine-style catastrophe is nipped in the bud. With one character citing violence statistics, and others feeling physical attraction to a same-sex friend, becoming an environmental activist, experiencing date rape, reporting potential sexual abuse to a counselor, and encountering racist attitudes, this loses its identity as a story, coming off more as a utilitarian discussion-starter. Even fans of Mel Glenn's soapy novels-in-poetry will be unimpressed. (Fiction. YA)

Gr 9 Up-The students at Branston (aka Brimstone), Koertge's "everyman's high school," know that violence is a fact of life circa 2001. But living in its midst, knowing it's there, and embracing it are very different things. In addition, the young people have other pressing concerns. Kitty's worried about eating-or, rather, not eating. Sheila's got a crush on another girl. Damon's looking for some action from his girlfriend. And Boyd is angry, just plain angry-and motivated. In short poems fashioned like journal entries, 15 kids are profiled, and their sometimes-raw voices provide poignant, honest, and fresh insights into today's teens. Branston could be anywhere, and, sadly, Boyd is an all-too-familiar character. He fuels his anger into a mental hit list of students who will be the target of his revenge. His credo is, "you're invincible until your number comes up." The profiles lead up to a clash of personalities and a strong conclusion in which tragedy is averted. It could have just as easily gone the other way. Young adults will have no trouble relating to the language and banter of these teens. They may even recognize themselves or their friends, for better or worse.-Sharon Korbeck, Waupaca Area Public Library, WI Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.