Drop

( 2 )

Overview

DON’T WE ALL harbor the secret wish that we won’t have to work for it? That luck—be it a spin of the wheel, a hop of the dice, the right card at the right moment—might just choose to favor us, whether we deserve it or not? That universal desire, along with many others, is played out in the lives of three teens who hope to beat the house, and control their futures. Come meet:

• Sanjay, who wants to be much more than the dutiful, hardworking immigrant’s son
• Kat, who wants enough...

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Drop

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More About This Book

Overview

DON’T WE ALL harbor the secret wish that we won’t have to work for it? That luck—be it a spin of the wheel, a hop of the dice, the right card at the right moment—might just choose to favor us, whether we deserve it or not? That universal desire, along with many others, is played out in the lives of three teens who hope to beat the house, and control their futures. Come meet:

• Sanjay, who wants to be much more than the dutiful, hardworking immigrant’s son
• Kat, who wants enough cash to run as far as she can, from her past and who she’s afraid she might become
• Jerrica, who thinks she can foresee the cards, and maybe make them be what she needs them to be.

Each is irresistibly drawn to gambling’s alluring flirt, and to entanglements with each other, and within themselves. Themes of obsession and other risky business fuel the pages of this fast-moving, provocative tale.

From the Hardcover edition.

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Editorial Reviews

Children's Literature - Donna L. Scanlon
Seventeen-year-old Sanjay Patel wants more to his life than the little ethnic grocery store his father owns. Since he lives in Las Vegas, it is not surprising that he sees gambling as the way to get what he wants. He starts out with college poker games but loses more often than he wins, and since he is "borrowing" money from his father's store," he soon has a big problem. He learns that a gifted classmate, Jerrica, is working on a set of principles that will help her predict cards and recruits her help. Shy and emotionally troubled, Jerrica is secretly thrilled to receive attention from Sanjay. Her system does not work well with poker, but armed with fake IDs, they take on the blackjack tables and roulette wheels at the casinos, enlisting Sanjay's girlfriend Kat when Sanjay is pegged as an advantaged player. Kat, who has her own issues to deal with, is not thrilled to work with Jerrica, but when things fall apart, she is the one who takes Jerrica's side. The plot is engrossing and appealing and the characters are well developed without relying on stereotypes. Jerrica and Kat achieve a convincing degree of inner strength and growth, but their problems are not magically and neatly resolved. Like many self-absorbed people, Sanjay changes little, remaining charming, self centered, and manipulative; clearly, he does not understand his own responsibility. For those who need to be concerned about it, there is a small amount of cursing; otherwise, this is a book with wide appeal. Reviewer: Donna L. Scanlon
KLIATT - Myrna Marler
Perhaps this could be called "a caper story." It's about three teens, each with a problematic family life, who try to beat the system in the casinos in Las Vegas. However, it's not a comedy. Sanjay has a serious gambling problem. He's actually stealing from his father's store to make up his losses. Kat, his girlfriend, has a mother in prison and a little sister she loves. She fears that her mother might get out of prison. She's also got a former boyfriend who is a criminal. Jerrica is obsessed with math and probabilities. She may be psychic, but her father is about to marry his pregnant girlfriend and she's not sure how she feels about that. Somehow, these three find each other and soon their nights are spent in smoky casinos laying bets and taking home thousands of dollars in cash—except for Jerrica, who is not in it for the money but to prove that she's onto a theorem about the law of probabilities. Before long, even though they are cautious in their placing of bets, the casino owners become suspicious. The three are robbed and they have to turn to Kat's ex-boyfriend for financial backing, with disastrous consequences. And yet, it all works out in the end. An infusion of unexpected cash is helpful. Sanjay gets his comeuppance. Kat gets to stay with her aunt and sister. And Jerrica floats off into the sunset. Interesting characters, some of them quite sympathetic. But the theme of the novel is unclear. Maybe it's that life happens and risk is part of the journey. Reviewer: Myrna Marler
School Library Journal

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 parole-and 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

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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780375842443
  • Publisher: Random House Children's Books
  • Publication date: 11/11/2008
  • Pages: 176
  • Sales rank: 1,336,978
  • Age range: 12 years
  • Lexile: 690L (what's this?)
  • Product dimensions: 5.75 (w) x 8.50 (h) x 0.75 (d)

Meet the Author

Lisa Papademetriou has written over 30 books for young readers and makes her Knopf YA debut with Drop. She and her family live in Florence, Massachusetts. You can visit her at www.lisapapa.com.

From the Hardcover edition.

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Customer Reviews

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Sort by: Showing all of 2 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted January 11, 2013

    Hi

    Well I've never read this book before so someone please tell me if its good I need a good response directly to me

    0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted July 26, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

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