Streetlight People

Gr 9 Up–In small town Streetlight, the Have-Lots and Have-Nots lead very different lives. The wealthy elite are governed by status, legacy, and tradition, and their sons are inducted into the exclusive IV Boys club, while the Have-Nots include working class families. Kady, daughter of the local drive-in theater owners, and Nik, an IV Boy, began dating in high school. With Nik now away at college, Kady looks forward to the IV Boys’ Ball and hopes that this year he will spurn tradition and invite her. In the meantime, she seeks familiar comfort with her best friends, including Aaron, who became a Have-Lot through his f­ather’s marriage. At the annual H­alloween carnival, Kady wins mysterious candy that she learns will give her the ability to travel in time, but only in Streetlight from one ­Halloween to the next. ­Meanwhile, she senses growing animosity from the IV Boys, and only Aaron and her Have-Not friends give her the support she craves from Nik. Told in alternating chapters between Kady and Aaron, the novel explores themes of fate versus choice, classism and bullying, and adherence to damaging traditions. Although characters track as diverse in race and sexual orientation, the focus of the conflict is class discrimination and parochialism. The author’s use of metaphor and intricate descriptions paints a vivid and suspenseful story; while it becomes somewhat repetitive midway, this plateau in an otherwise forward-moving narrative suggests the cyclical nature of the pervasive time warp.