Overview
Rex Ogle explores bonds of loyalty and friendship and how they're tested by drugs and violence in this propulsive novel-in-verse. Diego Benevides works hard. His single mother encourages him to stay focused on school, on getting into college, on getting out of their crumbling neighborhood. That's why she gave him her car. Diego's best friend, Lawson, needs a ride--because Lawson is dealing. As long as Diego's not carrying, not selling, it's cool. It's just weed. But when Lawson starts carrying powder and pills and worse, their friendship is tested and their lives are threatened. As the lines between dealer and driver blur, everything Diego has worked for is jeopardized, and he faces a deadly reckoning with the choices he and his best friend have made. Award-winning memoirist and poet Rex Ogle's searing first novel-in-verse is an unforgettable story of the power and price of loyalty.
Full Product Details
Author: Rex Ogle ,
Ramón de Ocampo
Publisher: Recorded Books
Imprint: Recorded Books
Edition: Unabridged edition
ISBN: 9798228504004
Publication Date: 25 March 2025
Audience:
Young adult
,
Teenage / Young adult
Format: Audio
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: In Print
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Reviews
""[A] portrait of two 'ride or die' friends in dire circumstances for whom the phrase becomes scarily literal."" -- ""Publishers Weekly (starred review)"" ""A gritty and nuanced glimpse into the underbelly of poverty, addiction, and gun violence."" -- ""School Library Journal (starred review)"" ""Golden Voice Ramón de Ocampo...guides listeners on its emotional journey...captures the story's highs and lows...De Ocampo's narration balances lyrical writing and a gritty story. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award."" -- ""AudioFile"" ""The expertly paced plot twist at the end makes Benny and Lawson's story heartbreakingly unforgettable."" -- ""Kirkus Reviews (starred review)""
Author Information
Rex Ogle is the author of fiction for young adults, including a stand-alone novels and novels in the Classroom 13 series and the Supernatural Society series. His book Free Lunch won the YALSA Award for Excellence in Young Adult Nonfiction; Punching Bag was named a New York Public Library Best Book; Abuela Don't Forget Me was a finalist for the YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults; and Road Home won both a Printz Honor and a Stonewall Book Award Honor. Ramón de Ocampo, an Earphones Award-winning narrator, was a cowinner in 2018 of the Audie Award for Best Multi-Voiced Performance. A graduate of the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama, he has been seen on television, film, and stages all over the world, including recurring roles on such television shows as The West Wing, 12 Monkeys, Sons of Anarchy, and Medium. He is the winner of a prestigious Obie Award for his stage work.
