VENOMOUS

High-school junior Locke Vinetti has periodic violent outbursts. His mother calls them “angries”; Locke calls them “the venom.” When he gets depressed or angry, the venom takes over; and it’s meaner, stronger and more amoral than Locke alone. Randall, Locke’s one friend at his Manhattan prep school, introduces him to beautiful-but-troubled Renée, for whom he falls right away. In a venomous outburst, however, Locke endangers Renée and Randall’s clique, and he can only fix things by ridding himself of his fantasy darker half. Alternate chapters are introduced by Yates’s black-and-white drawings and tell the story of “Blacklight,” Locke’s comics-style alter-ego, in over-the-top prose that, appropriately, sounds right out of a high-schooler’s doodle book. The two story lines, of Locke’s reality and his fantasy world, flow well together, meshing artfully as both plots come to a head. Teens, troubled or not, will likely identify, even if they find Locke and his friends’ consequence-free boozing, sex and drugs more than a little unrealistic. Gritty situations and language mark this one for older teens. (Fiction. YA)