Dope Sick

The Bulletin for the Center for Children's Books

“Readers might be moved to consider what they’d do in their own lives if they could start with a clean slate.”

Publishers Weekly

Using both harsh realism and a dose of the fantastic, Myers (Game ) introduces an inner-city teen in the jaws of a crisis: 17-year-old Lil J is holed up in an abandoned building, believed to have shot an undercover cop in a drug bust, while police officers assemble in the street below. As he searches for a way out, Lil J is stopped by Kelly, an eerily calm vagrant who invites him to "cop a squat and check yourself out on the tube." Kelly's TV not only plays scenes from Lil J's life but projects what will happen if he sticks with his current plan: suicide. Shocked, Lil J considers Kelly's question, "If you could take back one thing you did... what would it be?" Aided by Kelly's TV, Lil J revisits pivotal moments and wrestles with his fate. As expected, Myers uses street-style lingo to cover Lil J's sorry history of drug use, jail time, irresponsible fatherhood and his own childhood grief. A didn't-see-that-coming ending wraps up the story on a note of well-earned hope and will leave readers with plenty to think about. Ages 14-up. (Feb.)

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Children's Literature - Anita Barnes Lowen

Jeremy Dance (better known on the street as Lil Jay) has a life that has just gone from bad to worse. The drug deal that was going to make him some money has gone terribly wrong. A policeman is shot—maybe dying—and Rico (the guy who put the deal together) has been picked up. Rico told the cops that Lil Jay's the one who popped the cop. He has messed up big time and he knows it. In a seemingly abandoned building, Lil Jay finds Kelly, a spooky dude who can switch his television channels through Lil Jay's past, present, and, perhaps, his future. Is Kelly real, the product of a drug fueled hallucination, or a supernatural being? Could it be possible that Lil Jay is near death and his mind is skittering through all the good times and the bad? Is there any possibility of a second chance for Lil Jay to turn his life around? This excellent choice for teenage boys and at-risk teenagers is certain to lead to a lively discussion. Reviewer: Anita Barnes Lowen

School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up

Things have never looked worse for 17-year-old Jeremy Dance, known as Lil J. After getting involved in a drug deal that ended in the shooting of a police officer, he's nursing a badly wounded arm and desperately looking for a place to hide. He stumbles into an abandoned building and finds an open apartment occupied by an enigmatic man who introduces himself as Kelly. Although Lil J at first assumes that Kelly is just another junkie squatter, a common sight in his Harlem neighborhood, he slowly begins to realize that something much deeper-and much odder-is going on. Using a television remote that seems capable of revealing all facets of Lil J's life both past and present, Kelly guides, probes, and sometimes unsettles the teen into reflecting on the choices he's made leading to a life of crime and drug addiction. Myers has long been an excellent source of rich, nuanced portrayals of inner-city teens, and Dope Sick is no exception; the use of magical realism brings depth and an intriguing strangeness to his sharp-eyed observations of Harlem street life and Lil J's interactions with family and friends. Lil J is a particularly complex and sympathetic character; even as Kelly forces him to take responsibility for his poor decisions, readers come to understand how poverty and a family history of substance abuse impacted his development. Myers's gritty depiction of one young man's struggle to overcome the lure of the streets is sure to keep teens turning the pages.-Meredith Robbins, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis High School, New York City

Kirkus Reviews

Street life on DVR. After a botched drug deal leaves a cop fighting for his life, Jeremy Dance (aka Lil J) knows that he made some bad decisions. Seeking refuge in an abandoned building, Jeremy runs into Kelly, a mysterious man who has a remote control that allows Jeremy to review his life and change one critical decision. Together they view key moments and discuss what Jeremy did or did not do to end up where he is now. Lil J's blend of street bravado and uncertainty never really comes through effectively, leaving readers with a whining narrator. The supporting characters have vivid page presence, however, in stark contrast to the main character's dull personality. The disjuncture between Jeremy's language when he is reminiscing about his untroubled home situations and his discussion of street life shows genuine character development, but it is not enough to compensate for the thin premise. An ambiguous ending coupled with the fantastical slant further diminish the message. In his most recent urban YA title since Street Love (2007), Myers delivers a solid tale, but misses the nuances. (Fiction. YA)

ALA Booklist

"Myers’ narrative strategy is so inherently dramatic that it captures his readers’ attentions and imaginations, inviting not only empathy but also thoughtful discussion."

New York Times

"Drugs, drive-by shootings, gang warfare, wasted lives—Myers has written about all these subjects with nuanced understanding and a hard-won, qualified sense of hope."

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

“Readers might be moved to consider what they’d do in their own lives if they could start with a clean slate.”

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"Readers might be moved to consider what they’d do in their own lives if they could start with a clean slate."