DJ Rising

Gr 9 Up—Sixteen-year-old Marley Johnnywas Diego-Dylan dreams of escaping the small apartment he shares with his heroin-addicted mother and her stream of short-term boyfriends. His life is divided between his job at a high-end restaurant; at Ellington Prep, where he's a scholarship student; and the time he spends building his skills and reputation as a DJ. At school, he's shy and longs for rich, beautiful Lea Hall, but behind his turntables he's in his element. As music consumes more and more of his time, he struggles to balance education, romance, and caring for his mother, until he's forced to make some difficult choices. Maia's debut novel recalls Coe Booth's Tyrell (Scholastic, 2007) and Simone Elkeles's Perfect Chemistry (Walker, 2008), but it lacks the drama and romance of those novels. For all the difficulty in his life, Marley's struggles are resolved far too easily to create narrative tension. His relationship with his mother feels forced; the conflict between them is resolved too neatly, and his mother's ultimate overdose is expected. There's no suspense in the DJ contest he enters, and his stern musical mentor comes across as bland. For readers interested in being DJs, there may be some rewarding passages. Otherwise, spend time spinning with Tyrell.—Chris Shoemaker, New York Public Library