 |
In a witty, insightful young adult story, this book follows a group of teenagers—dubbed the Unlucky 8—who are brought together to face punishment for various high school infractions. Before long, the reader learns that a darker purpose lies behind their detention in Room 359 at Mariah Wilson Public School. At stake is expulsion for all and possible jail time for some unless they can look past their differences and work together to complete a set of tasks.
Typical teenage personalities are represented in this book, and as the plot unfolds, the eight students struggle to bond with each other while individually facing outside problems that include poverty, lost wealth, parental drug addiction, bullying classmates, manipulative adults, illness, and death. In this way, the book is reminiscent of The Breakfast Club. However, the problems the Unlucky 8 face and the world they've grown up in are unadulterated twenty-first-century, and author Pascoal throws in unexpected plot twists that further make the story wholly original.
Populated with sketches as incisive and slightly chaotic as the Unlucky 8 themselves, the prose is clever, with sharp observations: a flickering fluorescent light described as "engineered to make everyone feel a little worse about their day," and a detention room that "smelled of dirty socks and poor decisions." At times, the book is laugh-out-loud funny. It can also be sarcastic but is never mean-spirited. Best of all, it wisely reminds us that the emotions attached to growing up don't change from generation to generation; only the details do. The novel closes with a questionnaire designed to spark discussion and help young adult readers navigate a tempestuous time of life. It marks the author as one who cares not only for her book's characters but for all kids and their parents.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review