June 4, 2024 by Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books
Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central
Deja lives in Springtown Harbor, Jamaica with her young brother and sister, Donovan and Kaleisha. Their father is working in Costa Rica but never contacts them, and their mother is living in Brooklyn, trying to earn money and sending home barrels of supplies. Being "barrel kids" is hard on the family, since others are jealous of the US products they have, not understanding how much they all miss their mother. Since Deja is the oldest, she not only goes to school, but helps her uncle out with his fishing boat and even fishes to try to earn a little extra money. It's exhausting, taking care of the family, but she has no choice. When her mother calls from New York, it is with devastating news. She's been mugged, and all of her "partner money" has been lost. This means that the mother won't be home for Christmas, won't be able to send money for school fees, and won't even be able to send a supply barrel. Deja is on her own.
When Deja was out fishing, she had seen a boat with an injured man on it, and not stopped, knowing that there are a lot of problems with drug runners in the area. When the boat is still there the next day, she tries to help the man, who asks her to take a bag with $500,000, not "let them get it", and deliver it to someone named Webber in exchange for a reward. Still leery, Deja agrees, and takes the money home.
At the same time, we see Gabriel's life. He and Deja has recently met, and like each other, but have very different lifestyles. Gabriel was raised in an orphanage, but taken in by an aunt who is a drug addict. He was taken into a posse, where he has to make drops, but would like to get out, even though he and Hammer, another member, are good friends. He even talks to pastor and ex-posse member, Chops about it. He thinks he might have a chance to get out when a man offers him a lot of money if he and Hammer can get a large quantity of cocaine, which would move them into a different level of distribution. The man offered this opportunity? Webber.
Deja consults the pastor about what she should do, calls the number she has, and arranges to meet Webber to hand off the money. It's not an easy journey. At the same time, Gabrielle and Hammer come across a drug deal gone wrong. The three meet up at a checkpoint. Deja knows she has to get away, but feels that Gabrielle doesn't have her best interest at heart. It's a harrowing journey to meet up with Webber, but he's reassuring. When things become complicated, is there any hope that anyone will break free from the hold that the drug culture has on their neighborhood?
This was a complicated Young Adult book, with some mature language, but was very interesting. It's definitely a slow burning thriller that will appeal to fans of Deuker's Runner or other crime thrillers. Deja knows from the beginning that she can't keep the money, and that her future lies with doing the right thing and getting the money back to the DEA. Gabrielle's journey is more complicated, but so was his past. I really enjoyed the fact that, in the end, the story concluded happily for them both.
The real draw here are the details of everyday life in Jamaica, and the struggles that ordinary high school students have. I'm a big proponent of the "things could always be worse" philosophy, but if I were in Deja's shoes, I like to think I would believe that Better Must Come.
While I enjoyed this, I will be passing this on to the high school because of the mature language.
No comments:
Post a Comment