School Library Journal03/01/2014
Gr 8 Up—Ethan Andrezejczak is a junior at a Minnesota arts school that is hosting a competitive "reality" television show starring its students. Ethan strikes just the right note of teenage hesitancy and the shrug of paralyzed inaction so common to many stalled in the years leading to adulthood. Ethan tells the story about how he wound up attending the school, with his limited talent at drawing and music. His friends consist of the truly talented writer Luke, brainy Jackson, and stylishly dreadlocked Elizabeth. When their inspiring English teacher introduces them to Ezra Pound's Cantos, Luke composes a long poem that voices his outcry against the corrupting influence of the sleazy TV people capitalizing on their school's art and integrity.
