Bucking the Sarge

Curtis, Christopher Paul. (2004). Bucking the Sarge. New York, New York: Wendy Lamb Books.

Brief Annotation: Luther T Farrell is a fourteen-year old boy with a driver's license, a car, a job, and two Jr. high science fair gold medals that he hopes to add to this year. Finding time to work on his science fair project is difficult when his mother, a slumlord and loan shark, and her henchman, Darnell Dixon, keep him busy evicting tenants and caring for patients at the home for disabled adults Luther runs. Luther juggles these different responsibilities until both his best friend and one of the men he cares for makes him question his mother's intentions and where his future is leading him. Luther's science fair project inadvertently leads him into a situation in which he must leave his school and town, hopefully getting revenge on his mother in the process.
Genre: Contemporary Realistic fiction novel
Grade Level: 6-12
Readers who will like this: Readers who like fast-paced stories, readers who like stories with some suspense, readers who like stories with an interesting twist at the end.
Response/Rating (1-4): 3. There is a lot of moral ambiguity in this story, which could lead to some interesting ethical discussions with students. The ending is interesting and engaging--like the end of a caper movie, where all the ends are tied up, maybe a bit too neatly. This book kind of feels like it was first written as a movie script, and then fleshed out into a novel.
One question you would ask before a read aloud: What would it be like to be fourteen, have your own credit cards, your own car, and be able to drive?