Prince of Pot

by Tanya Lloyd Kyi

Overview

Legalizing weed doesn’t mean that living on a secret, family-run grow-op is easy, especially when your new girlfriend turns out to be the daughter of a cop.

Isaac loves art class, drives an old pickup, argues with his father and hangs out with his best buddy, Hazel. But his life is anything but normal. His parents operate an illegal marijuana grow-op, Hazel is a bear that guards the property, and his family’s livelihood is a deep secret.

It’s no time to fall in love with the daughter of a cop.

Isaac’s girlfriend Sam is unpredictable, ambitious and needy. And as his final year of high school comes to an end, she makes him consider a new kind of life pursuing his interest in art, even if that means leaving behind his beloved home in the Rockies and severing all ties with his family.

For a while he hopes he can have it all, until a disastrous graduation night, when Sam’s desperate grab for her father’s attention suddenly puts his entire family at risk.

Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.6
Explain how an author develops the point of view of the narrator or speaker in a text.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781554989461
Publisher:	Groundwood Books Ltd
Publication date:	09/01/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	216
File size:	772 KB
Age Range:	13 Years

About the Author

TANYA LLOYD KYI is the author of more than twenty books for young readers, including Eyes and Spies and Anywhere but Here. She spent several childhood years in Crawford Bay near Isaac’s imaginary home, and while she didn’t live on a grow-op, there were plenty of habituated bears around. She has yet to forgive the one that wrecked her swing set. Tanya now lives in Vancouver with her husband and two children.

Read an Excerpt

Waterfall plus girl. That’s apparently what it takes for me to forget where and how I live.

A low, phlegmy grunt reminds me.

Another.

Snuffling.

“Is that what I think it is?” Sam asks, her voice turned raspy. Then she starts whistling. She manages a few notes before she’s all air and no sound.

I know the feeling. It’s hard to whistle when your mouth’s gone dry as a creek bed in August.

That sound was a bear, all right. It was Hazel. I can tell before I catch a glimpse of her cinnamon-speckled fur.

She’s going to ruin my perfect hour.

*

When I push open the door, I startle them all.

There’s an insistent knot in my gut.

“I ran into a hitchhiker by the highway.”

Dad’s eyes narrow.

“And?” he asks.

We just had our biggest fight ever, but he trusts my judgment. With that one word, he’s relying on me to make the call.

“We have a problem.”

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"This truly immersive story … is the perfect read for high-school seniors on the verge of starting their adult life, trying to figure out how much of their past will sit comfortably beside it." — Booklist

"An engaging story set in an atypical locale that will universally appeal to teens." — School Library Journal

Editorial Reviews

This truly immersive story … perfectly captures the classic warring emotions of late adolescence.

Booklist

The story is absorbing and full of ethical issues for a teen discussion.(...)Prince of Pot's fast pace and narrative fluency, combined with an interesting setting and relationships, make for a successful tale.

Canadian Review of Materials

09/01/2017
Gr 10 Up—Isaac Mawson lives with his family in the woods of British Columbia on a "grow-op," an illegal marijuana farm that is so off the grid that his best friend is a habituated bear and there are no roads leading up to his cabin. A senior in high school, Isaac's post-graduation plans are to continue the family business. Then Isaac meets Sam, a loud, gregarious schoolmate who draws unwanted attention to Isaac's way of life, and everything changes. Isaac starts to dream about what life outside the grow would look like and even considers going to art school. But leaving his aging parents to fend for themselves is a nonstarter; perhaps Sam could live in the woods with him? In some ways, where this story is headed is no surprise: readers will know that Sam is trouble even before learning that her father is a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. But the unraveling of Isaac's carefully cultivated family life is filled with anguish and some harsh truths. Kyi's description of Isaac's impossible situation is never dull, and the narrative is propelled forward by a brisk plot, complicated three-dimensional characters, realistic dialogue, and a unique setting. The bucolic woods are filled with danger, both natural and man-made; how the flawed but earnest Isaac navigates his way through them will determine his future. VERDICT An engaging story set in an atypical locale that will universally appeal to teens; a strong purchase.—Melissa Kazan, Horace Mann School, NY

School Library Journal

2017-07-15
A boy living on a secret marijuana farm struggles to choose between continuing the family business or leaving the woods for good. White teen Isaac Mawson lives on an illegal marijuana grow-op on government-owned forest land with his family and a group of bears. His life is nothing like that of his fellow classmates; his parents expect him to take over the business as soon as he graduates high school, and he can never tell anyone about it. He accepts his fate, finding escape in painting. But while hiking one day, Isaac stumbles upon Sam Ko, the new-to-town, biracial (Asian/white) girl with spiky black hair. He's instantly infatuated. The two become close quickly even though her desire to be in the spotlight rankles him. In his fantasy, Sam moves into the forest with him, mirroring the life of his parents. But Isaac learns that his two lives—the secret one at home and the public one at school—can't both continue. Sam's father is a cop, which puts Isaac's family at risk. Isaac must decide his future before it's decided for him. Isaac and Sam's relationship reads as hollow; there's little buildup or romance. The real story is in Isaac's struggle to choose his path, and the violence that spurs this choice can be seen coming from a mile away. A modern Romeo and Juliet spin that frustrates and fizzles. (Fiction. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews