All the Answers

Jason, LeMieux's (Dare to Be, M.E.!) narrator, indeed seems to have all the answers--except perhaps those to his algebra problems. His witty banter, coupled with his impulsive behavior, leads this eighth-grader into some sticky situations. At school, the boy contends with his smarmy, slick nemesis, Philip; flirts (against Philip's wishes) with this bully's fetching but vapid twin sister, Phelicia; pays a friend to copy her math homework; and faces the algebra teacher's penalty when she finds him out. Jason's increasingly strained relationship with his moody and stressed-out father gives this young character dimension and provides the novel's most affecting moments. LeMieux's plotting features some forgivable contrivances (e.g., the new boss who is making Jason's father miserable just happens to be the father of the feckless twins). Readers of both genders will find her protagonist both likable and authentic; his incessant string of wisecracks would make any stand-up comic envious. Ages 9-12. (Jan.)