Kicks - Hardcover

LAURIE THINKS CARLA IS THE LUCKIEST KID IN LOS ANGELES
After all, Carla has parents who let her do anything she wants. Laurie's mother keeps her on a short leash, demanding that she keep the house clean, cook for her sick father, and stay out of trouble. Still, at Carla's instigation, they manage to keep things on the street exciting. Sometimes it's shoplifting, sometimes it's hitching a ride, sometimes it's smoking and flirting on the beach with older guys. If Laurie could only be as brave and daring as Carla, she knows her life would be a lot more interesting.
But Laurie also knows that Carla sometimes takes crazy chances. And one night when Carla is in trouble only Laurie can help her--only Laurie and one other person, someone who loves Laurie more than she realizes, someone who would do anything to be with her. . . .
"Capture[s] the dark underside of growing up . . . Teens will empathize with Laurie's desire to be free from familial rules and responsibilities, and the realism of some scenes will horrify yet fascinate them."
--School Library Journal

Grade 7-10?Gritty and explicit, this novel of peer pressure explores the lure and false glamour of L.A. street life. Laurie, 15, spends her summer vacation caring for her brain-damaged father, while her strict Russian-emigre mother works grueling hours to support the family. A bright but sheltered teen, Laurie wishes that her life could be more like that of her hip friend Carla, whose psychologist parents give her lots of spending money and freedom, with no questions asked. Sneaking out in the afternoons, Laurie joins Carla and the two shoplift or hitchhike to the beach. Caught riding home with some boys, Laurie is grounded for the summer, but her mother helps her to get a job. She sneaks out to a party with Carla and her biker rock musician boyfriend. There, nearly raped while stoned out of her mind, she wakes up. When Carla ODs, it is Laurie and her mother who come to her aid because the girl's parents want to "let her make her own mistakes and experience the consequences of her choices." Teens will emphathize with Laurie's desire to be free from familial rules and responsibilities, and the realism of some scenes will horrify yet fascinate them. Fitch's writing doesn't match the humor or lyricism of L.A. street novels such as Ron Koertge's The Harmony Arms (Little, 1992) and Francesca Lia Block's Weetzie Bat (HarperCollins, 1989), but it does capture the dark underside of growing up. It shows two kids teetering on the brink of disaster, at risk because their parents are too busy or too self-involved to supervise their activities.?Alice Casey Smith, Monmouth County Library Headquarters, Manalapan, NJ
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.