121 Express

121 Express

By Andrea Belcham

A review of 121 Express by Monique Polak

Published on April 1, 2009

121 Express
Monique Polak

Orca Book Publishers
$9.95
paper
106pp
978-1-55143-976-1

Known at his old school as Brainiac, Lucas is determined to get in with the cool kids at his new school. That means befriending the troublemakers who, like him, take the 121 Express bus home every day. The action in Monique Polak’s lively story takes place almost exclusively on this bus, where “losers,” the in-crowd, and those in between have each claimed a space. Lucas gains a coveted seat at the back, but only by compromising his principles. Lucas has to evaluate the price of popularity. 121 Express explores weighty topics – racism, self-respect, compassion – without preaching, through an honest narrator to whom readers can relate. (Ages 10 – 14) mRb

Andrea Belcham lives in Saint-Lazare, where many of her best neighbours are trees.

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