Drop

December 1, 2008
Gr 8 Up-Jerrica loves math and probability. She believes that the universe can be explained by equations and she is very close to cracking them, intuitively. Using this ability, she is often able to predict future events, including the outcome of the seemingly unbeatable game, roulette. Enter Sanjay, a new acquaintance in her Las Vegas high school, with a bit of a gambling problem. He is never ahead for long, often borrowing from the safe in his father's grocery store to cover his debts. Kat's mother is serving time for a hit-and-run and is now up for paroleand Kat isn't sure she's very enthusiastic about her mother's release. The three are out to take the casino world one small bet at a time. The characters are well drawn and the excitement of the gambling scenes is well executed. Additionally, some surprising details about the teens turn the story upside down, unraveling everything that readers thought they knew about them. A page-turner."Leah Krippner, Harlem High School, Machesney Park, IL"

Copyright 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2008
Grades 7-12 Las Vegas teens Sanjay and his girlfriend, Kat, both need moneySanjay to cover his gambling debts and Kat to run away from her jailbird mother, who is up for parole. Enter their classmate Jerrica, a mathematical genius who just may have a system for winning big at local casinos. The trouble is that the system, which involves precognition as much as probability theory, doesnt always work. Worse, troubled Jerrica may herself be a few cards short of a full deck, which becomes really problematic when Kats dangerous ex-boyfriend, a drug dealer and small-time hood, gets involved. The plot starts to spin out of control, and its strangely inconclusive ending seems to have been tacked on simply to end the game. Nevertheless, the author does a fine job with the noir atmospherics of the Vegas strip and builds enough suspense in the first half of the book to hold readers interest to the capers conclusion.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2009
Readers are immersed in the world of gambling, as three protagonists join forces to try and beat the system. Each has a different motivation: Sanjay strives for notoriety, Kat longs for escape, and possibly-psychic Jerrica searches for order in the universe. Their stories interlace to form a compelling, though metaphor-heavy, narrative exploring the temptation and futility of finding an easy way out.

(Copyright 2009 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)