Surf Mules

by G. Neri Narrated by John Allen Nelson

Overview

PMW-Perfect Monster Wave. It could be the answer to all Logan's problems. He could ride it and figure out what to do about his deadbeat dad, who turned out to be a major loser. He could figure out how to help his mom out of the financial jam his dad put her in. He could decide whether going to college and forsaking the wave and the surfer's life are really what he wants to do. He could even forgive his former best friend, Fin, for being the greatest surfer Hermosa Beach has ever seen. The Perfect Monster Wave. But when it comes, Logan doesn't expect to see Fin riding it. He also doesn't expect Fin to die riding it. Logan didn't even know anyone his age could die. Suddenly his world is in a tailspin, but his faithful bud, Z-boy, may have the answer for Logan-a summer job muling illegal cargo cross-country. *

While Logan knows it's not the smartest thing to do, it does seem like the only thing to do. A road trip could be just what he needs to clear his head and make some quick cash. But with Z-boy's constant screwups, a band of Nazi surfers out for blood and a mysterious stranger on their tail, Logan is starting to have some serious doubts about this summer job, and wonders if he'll even make it home alive.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

Avid surfer Logan goes into a sudden tailspin when his recently estranged friend, Fin, dies in a freak surfing accident. Fin, Logan learns, had been a drug mule for Broza, a local marijuana dealer. Needing a replacement mule, Broza uses Logan's best friend, Z-boy-a goodhearted but impulsive high school dropout who wants to get rich fast so he can surf and get high-to lure Logan into taking the job. Hair shorn and "dressed like Republicans in suits and ties," the two boys drive a marijuana-stocked car cross-country, through increasingly dangerous and ultimately tragic events. The short, high drama chapters may appeal particularly to older struggling readers, but Logan's agonized wrestling with morally ambiguous choices and his flawed yet appealing family and friends should find a wide audience. While a romantic subplot with surfer friend Emmie offers hopeful glimmers, the tortured but loving friendship between Logan and Z-boy proves poignant and heartbreaking. Ages 14-up. (June)

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Booklist

. . . a powerful story . . . this will find an audience among teens looking for gritty contemporary fiction.

School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up

Neri's novel catches readers' interest on the very first page and propels them to the end in this intense, funny, and exciting read. Logan lives in Southern California. He is planning to graduate with his best friend, Z-boy, and then spend the summer catching killer waves before he goes off to college. All seems well until one of his friends dies surfing, Z-boy is not able to graduate, and he learns that his college fund has been frozen to cover his alcoholic father's debts. With the world drowning him faster than a killer wipe-out, Logan can't figure out how he can make money until Broza, the local pot dealer, offers him and Z-boy a cross-country trip to deliver marijuana in Florida, a journey that involves a number of life-threatening situations. Reluctant readers will be hooked on this fast-paced, interesting adventure. Difficult and realistic choices face all of the characters, making the story one that teenagers can relate to. There is drinking, strong language, some drug use, and sex, so this is best suited to an older audience, but it is a definite buy.-Richard Winters, Wasco High School, CA

Kirkus Reviews

At the end of their senior year, three Southern California teenage surfers mark time while seeking the Perfect Monster Wave. Logan, Z-Boy and Fin, once known as the Three Musketeers, have drifted apart due to Fin's surfing stardom. Logan and Z-Boy simply hang loose and smoke weed. When Fin tragically drowns, Logan and Z-Boy are awash with grief. Needing quick cash, they fall back on what they know and are hired as drug mules to drive a car stuffed with pot from Los Angeles to Orlando. Fueled by junk food and Mountain Dew, the journey starts off cool, but their friendship unravels under the stress of performing a felony. Neri sandwiches his story between a crackling opening and a whipsaw climactic scene, but jumbled sideplots cause some sagging around the middle, in which the happy-go-lucky tone seems out of step with the serious situation. Still, older boys who say they've never read anything will be attracted to the novel's profanity, prodigious amounts of pot and friendship on the brink of disaster. (Fiction. YA)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169234794
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	06/09/2009
Edition description:	Unabridged

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