The Beckoners » (Reprint)

When her mother suddenly moves them to a new town, Zoe is unhappy about leaving behind what passes for a normal life. And when the first person she meets turns out to be Beck, who rules her new school with a mixture of intimidation and outright violence, she is dismayed. But she has no idea how bad things will get. Unsure of herself and merely trying to fit in, Zoe is initiated, painfully, into the Beckoners, a twisted group of girls whose main purpose is to stay on top by whatever means necessary. Help comes from unlikely quarters as Zoe struggles to tear loose from the Beckoners without becoming a target herself, while also trying to save April - or Dog, as she is called - from further torment. A chilling portrait of the bullying and violence that is all too common in schools, The Beckoners illustrates the lure of becoming tormentor rather than victim, and the terrible price that can be exacted for standing up for what is right. Carrie Mac lives and writes on British Columbia's spectacular Sunshine Coast and claims that the following contains two truths and one lie: o She has five dogs, none of which were harmed in the production of this novel. o She has had the very same best friend since she was nine and highly recommends the habit. o She has lost count of how many tattoos she has and offers this advice: "Never get anyone's name tattooed on you (no matter how much you think you love them)."

Janis Flint-Ferguson - KLIATT

Zoe Anderson does not want to hear that her mother is moving the family—again. At 15 she has already moved nine times. But Alice packs up Zoe and her baby sister, Cassy, has one last blow-up with Cassy's father, and leaves Prince George for Abbotsford, in Canada. At her new school, Zoe makes friends with a gay couple, Simon and Teo, and a girl gang leader, Beck. Beck's gang is made up of girls who spend much of their time terrorizing a girl named April and anybody else they please. Initially Zoe doesn't mind being part of the gang, a place to belong, but gradually she feels uncomfortable with the torment they enjoy. Beck's birthday party is a drunken bash where Zoe witnesses a sexual encounter between the boyfriend of one of the gang members and an unwilling girl. Unable to tell anyone, especially her mother, Zoe seeks to extricate herself from the gang, which comes with beatings, harassing threats and knife wounds. Along the way she becomes friends with April, the gang's number one victim, and Leaf, the boy who lives next door. She learns how it feels to be on both sides of high school bullying, which is seen as it happens outside the view of unconcerned teachers and administrators. There is adult language, vicious behavior and an ending that wraps the story up a bit too conveniently. KLIATT Codes: S—Recommended for senior high school students. 2004, Orca, 217p., Ages 15 to 18.