Snow Job

Gr 9 Up—It's the end of 1977, and high school senior Nick is trying to reinvent himself. In his effort to become a better person, he makes a list consisting of four phrases to live by: Stand Up, Stand Out, Stand By, Stand Fast. Adhering to the list proves to be difficult when Zod, a lowlife from Nick's past, reappears and persuades Nick to deal drugs. Nick is able to convince himself that delivering cocaine is just a means to an end —a way to get enough money so he and his new crush, Dawn, can escape snowy upstate New York and move to Florida. Despite the danger and illegal nature of his activities, Nick comes to believe that he has achieved his metamorphosis into a better self through his drug deals. While the plot moves along quickly and will hold readers' interests and the characters are well drawn, there's a disconnect in the narrative. Nick's conviction that he has achieved his goals in the course of his drug running does not seem reasonable. At no point did he truly Stand Up, Stand Out, Stand By, or Stand Fast, and as such, his transformation feels hollow. Also, the cartoonish cover and large font will cause this to appeal to middle schoolers; however, it's largely about drugs and drinking (even the deceptive cover features a bag of cocaine).