Module 7 - Dope Sick

Summary
Lil J is always running away from his troubles.  He uses drugs for his escape. He has an alcoholic mother, dropped out of school, and cannot find a job. After a drug deal goes terrible wrong, he is on the run from the cops.  He runs into an abandoned crack house and finds an unexpected friend.  Kelly, a mysterious young man with a dreamlike TV remote, plays segments of Lil J’s life on the screen. Kelly keeps asking Lil J if he could an event in his life what event would he change.

Impressions
This is a nitty-gritty book that deals with the drug abuse, lack of education and employment.  The story of Lil J is one that is seen in newspapers and TV and is a reality for many young adults.  Kelly is a character that kept me interested in the story.  The author, Walter Dean Meyer, keeps you guessing as the true nature of this character.  Is Kelly a hallucination that Lil J is having?  Is he an angel?  What exactly is he and how is he going to help Lil J. 

Reviews
Street life on DVR. After a botched drug deal leaves a cop fighting for his life, Jeremy Dance (aka Lil J) knows that's he made some bad decisions. Seeking refuge in an abandoned building, Jeremy runs into Kelly, a mysterious man who has a remote control that allows Jeremy to review his life and change one critical decision. Together they view key moments and discuss what Jeremy did or did not do to end up where he is now. Lil J's blend of street bravado and uncertainty never really comes through effectively, leaving readers with a whining narrator. The supporting characters have vivid page presence, however, in stark contrast to the main character's dull personality. The disjuncture between Jeremy's language when he is reminiscing about his untroubled home situations and his discussion of street life does show genuine character development, but it is not enough to compensate for the thin premise. An ambiguous ending coupled with the fantastical slant further diminish the message. In his most recent urban young adult title since Street Love (2007), Myers delivers a solid tale, but misses the nuances. (Fiction. YA)

Dope sick. (2009). Kirkus Reviews, (1) Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/917279020?accountid=7113

 

Pursued by police after a drug deal goes disastrously wrong, 17-year-old Lil J hides out in an abandoned building where he encounters a strange, solitary man named Kelly, who is watching television. Stranger still is what Kelly is watching: scenes from Lil J's past and his prospective future! How can this be? And how to answer the question that Kelly then asks: "If you could do it all over again and change something, what would it be?" As Lil J ponders his answer, Kelly screens more scenes from the teen's unfortunate life, including his growing heroin habit. Is this a drug-induced hallucination? A ghostly visitation à la Dickens' Scrooge? A metaphysical fantasy? A cautionary tale? All of the above? Wisely, Myers provides no easy answers to these difficult questions, trusting his readers to find their own truths and lessons in Lil J's life. Yes, "lessons," for there is definitely a didactic element here. But, happily, Myers' narrative strategy is so inherently dramatic that it captures his readers' attentions and imaginations, inviting not only empathy but also thoughtful discussion. -Michael Cart

Cart, M. (2008). Dope sick. The Booklist, 105(6), 37-37. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/235556622?accountid=7113

Suggestions
This book is definitely for high school students.  If you could change one event in your life, what would it be?  At the high school level, students can reflect on major life events and contemplate how their life could be if a different decision was made.  One recurring scene in the story is the news anchor giving updates on the police search for Lil J and status of the cop that was shot.  The students could create a news segment about one event in their life and how they would change a choice that was made.

 

References

Meyer, W. (2009). Dope sick. New York: NY: Harper Collins Publishing.

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