One Good Punch

Children's Literature

Michael Kerrigan was a model student and athlete with a job as an editorial assistant for the Scranton Observer. He felt good about his accomplishments and planned to do more during his last year in high school. He expected to go to college the following year and was anxious to leave Scranton. His father was a professor and his mother a published writer. They did not interfere with Michael and left him alone to make his own decisions. His only girl friend was Shelly, whom he had known since elementary school. Some of their classmates teased about her being a lesbian, while others said she would “do” anybody. Things were going well until he asked a friend to sell him four marijuana joints. Shelly wanted them more than he did. Instead of giving them to him, the friend put them in his locker. Before Michael found them, the police did. Michael would not involve the other students and accepted all the guilt himself. The result: he was expelled from school, lost his position on the track team, and lost his job at the newspaper writing obituaries. His parents were disappointed, but as usual let him decide his course of action. Michael refuses to give up, in spite of his trouble. The author, Rich Wallace, has written ALA’s top ten Best Books for Young Adults. This latest, no doubt, will also end winning prizes. Reviewer: Jennie DeGenaro

VOYA - Jessica Mize

Michael Kerrigan has plans that do not include hanging around East Scranton, "unemployed, sitting on the porch of [his] parents' house . . . drinking beer." He is going to be a writer, even if for now he only writes obits for the Scranton Observer. But first, he wants to place in the 800-meter relay at state. Michael is an athlete and steers clear of trouble, so when his friend Joey calls to say that he left "something" in Michael's locker, Michael does not panic. He is "almost too good to be true." Because of his job at the newspaper, Michael quickly learns that drugs were found in his school, and that his name is on the list. The school officials and police suspect Joey's involvement-he has a reputation-but they have no proof. If Michael and Joey remain silent, Michael will take the hit alone. But can he rat out his friend even if it means losing his dreams? The newspaper setting and sports theme make this novel read like a play-by-play. The newspaper setting contributes to the concise construction of the prose. Michael is a bright and aspiring character unlike the "jock" stereotype. Although he wants to achieve personal success, he struggles with the relationships around him, not wanting to let anyone down. This novel's success is in creating a multidimensional male character in a format that will appeal to all readers. The moral dilemma-to tell or not to tell-makes this novel ripe for ethical discussions.

Kirkus Reviews

To everyone around him, Michael Kerrigan is "almost too good to be true." He's a runner hoping to compete in college, he writes obituaries as an editorial assistant for the Scranton Observer and he never hangs out with troublemakers. But when lockers are searched at East Scranton High School and marijuana is found in his, Michael is faced with a moral dilemma: "Where do you draw the line with your integrity? Do you protect yourself or your friend?" This isn't an original dilemma for a young-adult novel, and here it's never adequately played out or resolved. In fact, readers may get to the end of this too-brief work and wonder, "Where's the rest?" Yet the story has a lot going for it: a solid first-person voice and lively dialogue, an innovative use of "not dead yet" obituaries to flesh out secondary characters and a superb depiction of Scranton and Michael's oneness with his city. Readers will wish there were more to it. (Fiction. YA)