With the backdrop of life-threatening peril, unlikely friendships are forged and secrets revealed in a long, difficult day for the protagonists . . . A suspenseful ride, full of twists, turns, and revelations, both personal and related to the caper.” —VOYA
“Give this to readers who enjoy action-packed crime dramas spiced with a little danger and a healthy dash of heart.” —BCCB
“Lange keeps tension high as the situation quickly escalates from bad to worse . . . a fast-paced read with a gripping blend of suspense and emotion.” —Publishers Weekly
“A new contemporary thriller that's part Breakfast Club, part Breaking Bad . . . Lange's story is gripping . . . Well paced, with twists and turns that will take readers by surprise.” —Booklist
“Lange drives the narrative forward with a sense of suspense and excitement . . . for libraries looking to enhance their action/adventure offerings.” —School Library Journal
“A broad emotional story.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Lange keeps the plot twisting . . . As in her debut novel, Lange deftly blends big issues (bullying, special needs, abuse) into a story of two imperfect, memorable characters.” —Booklist on DEAD ENDS
“Lange writes realistically about teens with rough lives, and readers will believe in the friendships, feel Billy's pain of abandonment, and appreciate the honesty of the not-tied-up-with-a-bow ending.” —School Library Journal on DEAD ENDS
“Lange weaves a beautiful and believable tale of friendship for readers of any age who can appreciate the challenges of everyday life.” —Library Media Connection on DEAD ENDS
“A fast-moving tale tailor-made for reading in study hall, when a road trip of any kind sounds really good.” —BCCB on DEAD ENDS
“Using current, hot-button topics—cyberbullying, obesity, and teen suicide—the author weaves a compelling tale sure to draw teens in.” —starred review, School Library Journal on BUTTER
“Lange's emotionally expansive first novel is dark, funny, painful, and powerful.” —Publishers Weekly on BUTTER
“The premise alone is enough to break your heart . . . This is no doubt a strong, gutsy debut.” —Booklist on BUTTER
“While this is definitely an anti-bullying book, it carries a weighty message without didacticism.” —Library Media Connection on BUTTER
11/23/2015
Lange (Dead Ends) throws together four teens from different backgrounds who have to trust each other in order to survive what has rapidly become the worst night of their lives. Samantha Cherie, a reclusive soon-to-be junior, has spent her life praying for her mother to stay sober and out of jail; she’s hopeful that the four-year anniversary of her mother’s sobriety is finally their turning point. On her way home to celebrate, though, a chance meeting with classmate Andi Dixon, an “it” girl turned rebel, unwillingly leads Sam to a party in the woods. When cops break up the party, Andi and Sam run into York and Boston, two brothers with little in common but large egos, and the unlikely foursome is soon escaping in a stolen vehicle. Lange keeps tension high as the situation quickly escalates from bad to worse. It’s not always clear (or plausible) why Sam makes certain decisions (namely choosing to stay with kids she hardly knows), but it’s still a fast-paced read with a gripping blend of suspense and emotion. Ages 14–up. Agent: Jennifer Laughran, Andrea Brown Literary Agency. (Feb.)
12/01/2015
Gr 8 Up—In the small town of River City, four high school students embark on a night they'll never forget. Sam Cherie, the outcast who has scars on her scalp in the shape of worms, coasts through life wanting to be invisible. She is an architect of her own anonymity—hiding under hats and keeping her head down. All Sam needs is to keep her drug-addicted mother sober long enough to break away from River City and start a new life. After a party gets busted by the police, she gets into an SUV with three other teens and a world of trouble. Andi is a rebel and kleptomaniac. Boston, a geeky, skinny kid with freckles, and his roughneck brother, York, are on the run, driving around town in a stolen cop car—believed to have already run over a cop and left the scene of a crime. However, for once in her life, Sam feels alive. The protagonists realize that they are running away from something bigger than the police, and Sam confronts her demons head on. Lange drives the narrative forward with a sense of suspense and excitement; the teens' fear of the police chase will feel tangible to young adult readers. The work explores whether being accepted by peers outweighs the dangerous decisions that can come of trying to build friendships. Fans of Jacqueline Woodson's Hush (Putnam, 2002) might find this tale compelling. VERDICT A general purchase for libraries looking to enhance their action/adventure offerings.—Krista Welz, North Bergen High School, NJ
2015-11-03
When the rebellious Andi draws good-girl Sam out of her comfort zone and to a party in the woods, the pair encounters bellicose brothers York and Boston. Naturally the party's busted, and the foursome escapes by stealing a handy SUV—which turns out to be a cop car. And the cop car has a whole bunch of drugs in the car already. The group heads to York and Boston's family cabin in the woods to cool off and regroup. Tensions flare, tragic histories are revealed, and friendships are forged in Lange's ambitious novel. Lange goes big and broad with the stakes and her characters but does a good job of slowly escalating the action and making the crazy situation credible. The novel's biggest weakness is its decision to make Sam the narrator: she spends a lot of time in her own head, dwelling on her tragic past and refusing to say or do anything. Obviously this is meant to emphasize her transformation when she finally steps up during the book's climax, but readers have to go through far too many pages of inaction to get there. The author also tinkers with the timeline a bit, isolating flashbacks and flash-forwards that add little to the narrative and actually work against the building tension. It's a broad emotional story with interesting bits and pieces, but it doesn't work as a whole. (Fiction. 14-18)
