Overview
PMW–Perfect Monster Wave. It could be the answer to all Logan’s problems. He could ride it and figure out what to do about his deadbeat dad, who turned out to be a major loser. He could figure out how to help his mom out of the financial jam his dad put her in. He could decide whether going to college and forsaking the wave and the surfer’s life are really what he wants to do. He could even forgive his former best friend, Fin, for being the greatest surfer Hermosa Beach has ever seen. The Perfect Monster Wave. But when it comes, Logan doesn’t expect to see Fin riding it. He also doesn’t expect Fin to die riding it. Logan didn’t even know anyone his age could die. Suddenly his world is in a tailspin, but his faithful bud, Z-boy, may have the answer for Logan–a summer job muling illegal cargo cross-country.While Logan knows it’s not the smartest thing to do, it does seem like the only thing to do. A road trip could be just what he needs to clear his head and make some quick cash. But with Z-boy’s constant screwups, a band of Nazi surfers out for blood and a mysterious stranger on their tail, Logan is starting to have some serious doubts about this summer job, and wonders if he’ll even make it home alive.
From the Compact Disc edition.
Synopsis
When Logan goes searching for the Perfect Monster Wave, he doesn't expect his former best friend to be killed by it. Add to this a deadbeat dad who bankrupted his family and the possibility of college going down the drain, and Logan is suddenly in a tailspin.
So when small-time dealer Broza offers Logan and his dropout pal, Z-boy, a summer job that could make them rich, it seems his problems might be solved. But between Z-boy's constant screwups, a band of Nazi surfers out for blood, and a mysterious stranger on their tail, Logan is starting to have some serious doubts about hauling contraband across country, and hopes just to make it home alive.
Publishers Weekly
Avid surfer Logan goes into a sudden tailspin when his recently estranged friend, Fin, dies in a freak surfing accident. Fin, Logan learns, had been a drug mule for Broza, a local marijuana dealer. Needing a replacement mule, Broza uses Logan's best friend, Z-boy-a goodhearted but impulsive high school dropout who wants to get rich fast so he can surf and get high-to lure Logan into taking the job. Hair shorn and "dressed like Republicans in suits and ties," the two boys drive a marijuana-stocked car cross-country, through increasingly dangerous and ultimately tragic events. The short, high drama chapters may appeal particularly to older struggling readers, but Logan's agonized wrestling with morally ambiguous choices and his flawed yet appealing family and friends should find a wide audience. While a romantic subplot with surfer friend Emmie offers hopeful glimmers, the tortured but loving friendship between Logan and Z-boy proves poignant and heartbreaking. Ages 14-up. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Editorials
Publishers Weekly
Avid surfer Logan goes into a sudden tailspin when his recently estranged friend, Fin, dies in a freak surfing accident. Fin, Logan learns, had been a drug mule for Broza, a local marijuana dealer. Needing a replacement mule, Broza uses Logan's best friend, Z-boy-a goodhearted but impulsive high school dropout who wants to get rich fast so he can surf and get high-to lure Logan into taking the job. Hair shorn and "dressed like Republicans in suits and ties," the two boys drive a marijuana-stocked car cross-country, through increasingly dangerous and ultimately tragic events. The short, high drama chapters may appeal particularly to older struggling readers, but Logan's agonized wrestling with morally ambiguous choices and his flawed yet appealing family and friends should find a wide audience. While a romantic subplot with surfer friend Emmie offers hopeful glimmers, the tortured but loving friendship between Logan and Z-boy proves poignant and heartbreaking. Ages 14-up. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Booklist
. . . a powerful story . . . this will find an audience among teens looking for gritty contemporary fiction.VOYA
Fresh from high school graduation in Southern California, seventeen-year-old Logan and his best friend, Z-boy, are headed across the country on a road trip. The two surfer dudes are recovering from the death of their close friend, Fin, as a result of a surfing accident just days earlier. They are also both facing uncertain futures: Z-boy did not graduate with the class, and Logan's deadbeat, surfer father has gambled away the family's savings. When a local drug dealer offers them big money to haul some product to Orlando, Florida, the boys feel that it might be their only chance at a decent future. There are indeed many adventures crammed into this fast-paced novel. It opens with Logan and Z-boy tangling with vicious surfers in Texas and then flashes back to Fin's death on the beach in California. The surfer scene is very well portrayed, including the dark side of an apparently carefree lifestyle. Some readers might be taken aback by the prevalence of marijuana use, cumulating in the highly illegal journey that is fraught with danger. But many others will be caught up in the page-turning action of the story, unsure whether to root for the boys' success or hope that justice will be served. Neri does a great job of creating sympathy for the two hapless surfers, naive like many other young people seeking quick solutions to life's problems. It is a title for mature high school readers. Reviewer: Diane ColsonChildren's Literature
Logan is a recent high school graduate who decides to take a summer job with his best bud and fellow surfer, Z-boy. The job is to transport illegal drugs across country. Z-boy is just a bit crazy about surfing and when he gives a friendly shout out to fellow surfers while they are driving through Texas, they find themselves in a very dangerous situation. The Texan surfers are not friendly to outsiders; in fact they are down right hostile. The two friends are surrounded, outnumbered, about to be beaten up and car jacked, Logan is shocked when Z-Boy pulls out his cell and dials 911. Logan realizes that if the cops get there in time, he and Z-Boy face a whole new set of problems and begins to think about his future in jail instead of in college. He knows he cannot depend on his loser father for anything, not to post bond, let alone pay college tuition. That was one reason he decided to become a surf mule. The other reason was because of his former best friend Fin. Logan taught Fin how to surf and Fin had ridden the perfect monster wave and it had ended his life and changed the lives of everyone who cared about him. Readers will find the characters in this book to be vivid and the language of the dialog reflective of teenagers that get in over their heads. It a fast-paced book chock full of life lessons. Reviewer: Laura J. BrownSchool Library Journal
Gr 9 Up
Neri's novel catches readers' interest on the very first page and propels them to the end in this intense, funny, and exciting read. Logan lives in Southern California. He is planning to graduate with his best friend, Z-boy, and then spend the summer catching killer waves before he goes off to college. All seems well until one of his friends dies surfing, Z-boy is not able to graduate, and he learns that his college fund has been frozen to cover his alcoholic father's debts. With the world drowning him faster than a killer wipe-out, Logan can't figure out how he can make money until Broza, the local pot dealer, offers him and Z-boy a cross-country trip to deliver marijuana in Florida, a journey that involves a number of life-threatening situations. Reluctant readers will be hooked on this fast-paced, interesting adventure. Difficult and realistic choices face all of the characters, making the story one that teenagers can relate to. There is drinking, strong language, some drug use, and sex, so this is best suited to an older audience, but it is a definite buy.-Richard Winters, Wasco High School, CA