Adrenaline High. (Side Streets). Christine Forsyth. Toronto, ON: James Lorimer, 2003. 126 pp., pbk. & cl., $6.95 (pbk.), $14.94 (cl.). ISBN 1-55028-792-3 (pbk.), ISBN 1-55028-793-1 (cl.). Grades 6-9 / Ages 11-14. Review by Joan Marshall. ** /4

excerpt:

"Holy crap, Zania,” I said, "You look like a zombie. Are you all right?"

"No, I am not all right. My mother's boyfriend is going to kill her if I don't go home so what am I doing instead? I'm sleeping on a sofa bed over a restaurant. I was this close to sneaking out last night and going home. Meanwhile, the great detective is off watching football."

"Hey," I said, annoyed at Zania's tone. That girl could be downright prickly."I didn't have a choice, okay? And I honestly forgot. I said I was sorry. What more do you want?"

Zania put her head down on the kitchen table. "I want this to be over," she mumbled. "You have no idea what this is like. It's not a game. It's my life, and it sucks."

Did Zania really believe that I thought this was all just a game? I didn't. Really. More like a real life drama. With a happy ending. And I, D'Arcey Dufresne, girl reporter slash righter of wrongs, was going to make sure of it.

Sixteen year old D'Arcey works with her friends, Kat and Abigail, to save the mother of their new friend, Zania, from a drug dealer boyfriend. Taking place in downtown Toronto, this fast moving adventure will appeal to middle school students who are attracted to thrillers and the supposed glamour of the reporter's life.

     D'Arcey, Kat and Abigail discover Zania hiding in a school prop room, too frightened of her mother's boyfriend, Wayne, to return home. Angry that she has to deliver Wayne's clothing to the gym, Zania no sooner discovered drugs in the gym bag than it was stolen from her. She and her mother decide that she should hide somewhere until it is safe to return home. D'Arcey's grandmother, Memere, owns a restaurant above which she lives, and the girls deliver Zania there while they try to contact Zania's mother, stake out Zania's apartment and avoid Wayne. Wayne follows D'Arcey to the restaurant where Memere knocks him off balance (with a piece of liver!!) and D'Arcey pushes him down the stairs where they use his gun to restrain him until the police arrive. Zania's mother is rescued in spite of injuries from a beating.

     Reminiscent of Chloe, Norah McClintock's detective heroine, D'Arcey carries the same irreverent determination and disregard for danger. D'Arcey's aim in life is to be a dashing reporter, interpreting the news in her own style, and everything she gets involved in is based on her career goals. Her voice rings true most of the time, but there is too much effort to make her different in order to show her determination. The lunch box collection (Barbie, Ninja turtles!!??) is just too over the top. Older readers will simply groan with embarrassment. D'Arcey's language puns, understood by no one else, are only silly: (donkey shoes = German for “thank you"). On the other hand, her compassion for Zania and her love for her grandmother, not to mention her witty musings that are often directed at herself, build a character that the reader is interested in.

     The other strong character here is Memere, D'Arcey's French grandmother, owner of The Liver Spot restaurant. Warm and loving, forthright and funny, she is D'Arcey's rock. The other characters are undeveloped, bordering on stereotypes: the vicious drug dealer, the absent minded literary parents, the battered wife, and the ditzy high school girlfriends.

     As in most detective/thrillers, some of the plot details strain the reader's credulity. How likely is it that a large gym bag would be stolen from right under D'Arcey's feet on the tram? How could Wayne not figure out where Zania went to school? How does Wayne suddenly trace D'Arcey to the restaurant?

     The teenage dialogue is zippy and completely up to date, and D'Arcey's exchanges with her grandmother as they gently tease each other clearly show their love for each other.

     The setting of this book is gritty downtown Toronto, complete with subways and back alleys and apartment dwellers. It's also unabashedly technological with the girls using cell phones and instant messaging and videotaping. It's refreshing to see girls portrayed as technologically savvy.

     One of Lorimer's “Side Streets” series, Adrenaline High will appeal especially to middle school girls hungering for tension and thrills.

Recommended.

Joan Marshall is the teacher librarian at Fort Richmond Collegiate in Winnipeg, MB.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

Copyright © the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.

Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

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