BREAKOUT, by Kevin Emerson

The story: Life would stink a lot less if Anthony could spend all his time playing with his band, the Rusty Soles, or moving up to the next level of Liberation Force, his favorite game. Mostly, though, he's stuck at school, doing (or not doing) stuff he doesn't care about, and getting in trouble more than he should. One night, grounded unfairly and raging at the system, Anthony writes and records a song, sends it to his bandmate Keenan, and next thing he knows, everyone he knows has heard those three F-bombs at the end. The band is supposed to sing the song at the upcoming Arts Night - will Anthony have the guts to sing it like it really is?

June Cleaver's ratings: Language PG-13 (lots of F***, like no one knows what that means); Violence G; Sexual content PG; Nudity G; Substance abuse PG; Magic & the occult G; GLBT content G; adult themes (adolescent angst, swearing) PG-13; overall rating PG-13.

Liz's comments: In reading the author's comments at the end, it becomes clear that he's writing about, and for, a certain subset of youth not generally represented in current YA fiction--probably because they're the ones least likely to ever get caught reading anything for any reason. While I acknowledge that kids like Anthony exist, reading about them and their ongoing, endless feelings of being oppressed by the establishment is just so tiresome, and so...1960s. The book takes 150 pages of actual story and spreads it over 300 pages of worrying about what everyone thinks, and wondering what he should do, and second- and third-guessing EVERYTHING. It'll work for some kids, one supposes, and help the rest of us be glad we're not that age anymore.