NERD GANGS OF NEW YORK

In Buck’s debut YA novel, so-called nerds use their brains to take down a gang behind a sinister plot.

For NYC high-schooler Harold White, steering clear of gang members is just routine. His walk home from school is through turf belonging to the merciless street gang the NEG, whose thugs habitually rob a nearby deli owned and run by the Pak family. Usually, the Paks (including Harold’s childhood friend, Carla) don’t report the robberies for fear of retaliation, but now they’re certain the NEG plans to expand its turf to their street. So Harold devises a way to fight back: After beefing up the deli’s security, he suggests spying on the NEG and gathering dirt for the cops (anonymously, of course). Tiny surveillance devices, courtesy of Harold’s best friend, Quentin “Q” Raines, help with the latter task. Meanwhile, drug overdoses are putting New York teens in comas, an ongoing event that really hits home when the fate befalls one of Harold’s friends. No one quite knows what’s actually happening, but Harold believes the NEG is somehow responsible. Buck’s story showcases bright and affable teens: Harold recruits others into his “gang,” including Roger Barksdale, a “bruiser” to whom, though he is not as smart as the high-IQ gang members, Harold never condescends. While his pals are all likably good-natured, Carla, the daughter of a Korean immigrant and a Puerto Rican woman, is the standout. Espionage elements and mysteries (those might not be overdoses) unfold as the narrative progresses. But as Harold inches closer to a resolution, the latter half of this subdued thriller veers off into another genre altogether. It’s overt but not exactly jarring, as Harold’s enjoyably buoyant first-person narration is consistent (“I just sat there and let her vent. I could have tried to say something but it was easier to just let her get it out of her system first…To be honest, I have always thought that Carla in a fury was pretty awe inspiring...not to mention downright hot”). This novel works equally well as either a standalone or as the start of a series.

A book-smart, charming cast leads this entertaining tale of youthful spies.