Bound To Stay Bound

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 Mr. 60%
 Author: Smith, Clete Barrett

 Publisher:  Crown Books for Young Readers (2017)

 Classification: Fiction
 Physical Description: 184 p.,  22 cm

 BTSB No: 827307 ISBN: 9780553534665
 Ages: 14-18 Grades: 9-12

 Subjects:
 Drug dealers -- Fiction
 Friendship -- Fiction
 High schools -- Fiction
 Interpersonal relations -- Fiction

Price: $22.58

Summary:
Matt Nolan is the high school drug dealer, deadbeat, and soon-to-be dropout according to everyone at his school. His vice principal is counting down the days until Mr. 60% (aka Matt) finally flunks out and is no longer his problem. What no one knows is the only reason Matt sells drugs is to take care of his uncle Jack, who is dying of cancer. Meet Amanda. The overly cheerful social outcast whose optimism makes Matt want to hurl. Stuck as partners during an after-school club (mandatory for Matt), it's only a matter of time until Amanda discovers Matt's secret. But Amanda is used to dealing with heartbreak, and she's determined to help Matt find a way to give life 100 percent.

Reading Counts Information:
   Interest Level: 9-12
   Reading Level: 5.70
   Points: 10.0   Quiz: 72977



Full Text Reviews:

Booklist - 07/01/2017 As his high school’s resident drug dealer, no one thinks much of Matt Nolan. He’s even earned the nickname of “Mr. 60%” for his ability to do just well enough in class to avoid expulsion. No one knows that Matt is too busy earning money to take care of his terminally ill uncle to worry about grades. When the vice principal forces him to join an extracurricular or face expulsion, Matt is teamed with chatty Amanda, who is organizing book drives for inpatient children at the hospital. She becomes the friend Matt never knew he needed. Smith’s story focuses on those usually outside the spotlight. Matt’s struggle is visceral—Smith has no qualms about showing readers the ugliness of cancer. It is heartbreaking to see Matt’s relentless, yet futile drive to save his uncle—a drive that threatens to destroy Matt’s own future. This raw, powerful story of unlikely friendship will hit readers at their very core, beckoning them to have empathy with those on the fringes. - Copyright 2017 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 07/01/2017 Gr 9 Up—Matt is a second-semester high school senior who has made a career out of doing barely enough work to keep from failing out of school, earning him the titular nickname. But he's better known by his classmates as the go-to contact for weed and pills; he conceals "party bags" around the building and sells them to schoolmates. When a new school board regulation requires every senior to join at least one extracurricular activity, sadistic Vice Principal Gill thinks he's finally bested Matt. Then, through Helping Hands, a community service club, Matt meets Amanda, a social pariah who is collecting children's book donations for a local hospital. Through Matt's slowly developing relationship with sensitive Amanda, readers experience more of his personal life and learn why he sells and eventually begins smuggling drugs. The story is repetitive at times, and the characters frequently lapse into stereotypes. Coarse language, drug use, and frank depictions of terminal illness make this title better suited for mature readers. The chapters are brief, and the text is simple and direct. VERDICT Despite some shortcomings, this is a good choice for reluctant and struggling high school readers.—Bob Hassett, Luther Jackson Middle School, Falls Church, VA - Copyright 2017 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

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