What Is Real

Gr 9 Up—When Dex's dad attempts to commit suicide, the 17-year-old aspiring writer-director leaves his prep-school life with his mom and stepdad and returns to the small town where he grew up to take care of his disabled father. There he finds that his dad has started a full-scale marijuana growing operation, and Dex starts partaking in the crop so extensively that his reality and fantasies start to converge. The story alternates between a screenplay Dex is writing and his first-person perspective, and the confusing narration leaves readers unsure about what's imaginary and what's real. It touches on heavy topics-suicide, drug abuse, sex, and love-but without delving deeply into any of them. While Dex is well developed, the other characters never seem to move beyond vague caricatures, making their relationships difficult to understand and the plot less than engaging.—Sharon Senser McKellar, Oakland Public Library, CA