Slave Day

by Rob Thomas
PRMS deleted, paperback, 246 pages
genre: YA realistic fiction

This caught my attention as I was weeding books. Published in 1997, I don't think it has ever been checked out while I've been here. "Anyone can be bought, if the price is right . . . The school geek. The beauty queen. The cranky teacher. The star football player. They're all equal on Slave Day."

I'm too lazy to copy the rest of the text on the back cover. This book kept me reading, wanting to see where the story was going. Themes of racism, peer pressure, academic dishonesty, economic disparities . . . there was so much potential here! I think the story got bogged down in too many characters and storylines. I wanted to know more about Mr. Twilley, Keene, Tiffany, and the half dozen or so others who carried the story. The resolution was weak.

I deleted it from the collection because of its age and lack of circulation. It was the right decision for other reasons! (But the references to getting a modem so one can dial in to a work computer . . . a little too old school.)