Teen Fiction - Body, Mind & Health

Accomplice

Name: Accomplice
Author: Valerie Sherrard
ISBN: 9781554887644

by Valerie Sherrard

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Overview

Lexie Malton is an average Vancouver teen with fairly typical issues. Her stepmother is far from her favourite person, she has a sister with special needs, and life outside the home is the usual mix of school, friends, and social events.

But Lexie has a secret. Her ex-boyfriend, Devlin Mather, is now a heroin addict living on the street, and only Lexie knows that shes the one who put him there. Guilt makes her give in to Devlins demands for money time and time again, even though she knows how dangerous his drug use is.

Lexie finally gathers the strength to stop enabling Devlin. But when he seeks treatment for his addiction, Lexie finds herself drawn back to him, never guessing what a dark and deadly path she has just chosen.

Devlin relapses, and his desperation leads to an act that will change both of their lives forever.

About the Author, Valerie Sherrard

Valerie Sherrard is the author of 12 previous novels for young people, including the Shelby Belgarden Mysteries, Watcher, Sarah's Legacy, Speechless, and her first historical novel, Three Million Acres of Flame. Her work has been shortlisted for numerous Canadian awards, including the Red Maple, White Pine, and Arthur Ellis Awards. She lives in Miramichi, New Brunswick.

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly

Sherrard (Watcher) pens a suspenseful if sometimes didactic story about the risks of drug use. Fifteen-year-old Lexie Malton has a clean record, a kind boyfriend, and a normal life—aside from still being entangled with Devlin, her now-homeless ex-boyfriend who's a heroin addict. "I wonder if I might have imagined the times, not so very long ago, when it seemed those same eyes saw things in me that no one else ever had," Lexie laments. Devlin constantly pesters her for money; she capitulates because she feels responsible for his addiction. Things seem to be moving in a positive direction when Devlin enters rehab, but he is soon back on the street and forcing Lexie, at knifepoint, to help him, leading to tragic consequences for both. The story is an adrenaline rush, full of action, flashbacks, and raw emotions. However, it can't quite escape a cautionary tone ("I learn that there is nothing he won't say, no emotion he won't use, no threat he won't make, to get what his body craves"), and the accelerated pace leaves secondary characters feeling underdeveloped. Ages 12–up. (Mar.)

From the Publisher

“Accomplice presents a straightforward but not light-weight plot involving common teen trials dealing with curiosity about drugs, discriminating between right and wrong, dating and communicating, and accepting responsibility.”