Gr 6 Up—A tightly packed tale about the effects of peer pressure. Dylan likes hanging out with the guys, but he isn't always comfortable with Garrett's ideas. When Garrett suggests that they throw snowballs at passing cars, he reluctantly goes along. Then his friend decides to up the ante and packs rocks in the snowballs. Dylan chickens out but Garrett's snowball cracks the windshield of a passing car, causing an accident. When the rest of the guys run off, Dylan is torn between fleeing the scene and checking on the driver. He fabricates a story that allows him to be at the crash site but not involved in the accident. One lie escalates to another as he is hailed as a hero for aiding the crash victim. But Garrett's threats to tell the truth, along with Dylan's own guilt, make him feel sick. He eventually comes clean to a reporter who prints the corrected story, and the community backlash only makes the teen feel worse. It's not until he takes ownership of his responsibility in the accident, makes amends with the victim, and confronts Garrett that Dylan reverses "the snowball effect." Loughead creates a very realistic teen dilemma. Though the dialogue feels artificial at times, reluctant readers will keep plowing through simply to see if Dylan can undo all the damage he has caused.—H. H. Henderson, Heritage Middle School, Deltona, FL
Dylan and his friends cause a near-fatal accident by throwing rock-laced snowballs at passing cars. When Dylan stays behind to help, he's hailed as a hero. He struggles with his conscience and, predictably, eventually confesses. The warm reception he gets from his would-be victim strains credulity and the characters are two dimensional, but Dylan's road to the truth may engage readers.
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