Your Own Worst Enemy by Gordon Jack

During a student body election that goes completely off the rails, all three candidates end up in the principal's office on election day.

Who are the candidates? Stacey has wanted to be the president for her whole high school career. She has been involved in student government and many clubs. A few weeks before the election, she is running unopposed.

Julia is new to school having just moved from Canada to live with her aunt. Her features make some think she is a Latina, but even she's not sure. Her mom is white, but she never knew her dad. Mom thinks Julia should be an individual and not worry about racial identity.

Tony only wants to hang out his parent's mansion (they travel a lot) and get high. School is of no interest. He is talked into running for president by a mo-hawk wearing freshman. Tony's platform is all about getting his favorite chocolate milk back in the cafeteria.

And then there's Brian, Stacey's best friend and election confidante, who falls for Julia the first time he sees her. His life is not complicated at all: friend to one candidate and hopeful boyfriend to another. Another force in the whole election is Kyle, Brian's little brother, who will do whatever he can to make Brian's life miserable. Oh ya, Kyle has a mo-hawk.

Even school politics can be messy. And when the stakes are high, even the most respectable student can dirty. For the reader, it's all fun and worth the time.

For more info, check out the Indianapolis Public Library catalog and the author's site.

The Boomerang Effect by Gordon Jack

Someone dressed in the school viking mascot costume is creating havoc - spray painting an unflattering message on the principal's parking space, vandalizing the homecoming floats. Principal Stone knows it must be Lawrence Barry. Lawrence is always pulling some prank and has no respect for authority. It is only the intervention of the school guidance counselor that keeps Lawrence from being shipped off to Quiet Haven alternative school like his friend Alex after they disrupted the diversity assembly.

To stay in school, Lawrence must join the Buddy Club and mentor Spencer Knudson, a freshman student from Norway. Spencer dresses like an adult in freshly pressed clothes. He carries a violin case and is constantly reading text books. Spencer is going to need a lot of help if he is going to survive high school. At least that's what Lawrence thinks.

But Lawrence is the last person who should be giving advice even though he thinks he knows what is best for others. If he had listened to Spencer (you know, taken advice instead of giving it), everyone would not believe he is the vandalizing viking.

Still, Lawrence is trying. He is giving up smoking pot (which loses him his old partying friends). He attempts to help his friend ask his dream girl to the homecoming dance. He tries to advise the plain girl who sits in the back of the classroom to reveal more of herself like she does when she is participating in live action role play. Lawrence is also trying to catch the real vandal (he knows it has to be that crazy goth girl Zoe who seems to be stalking him).

Even though you may find yourself scratching your head at Lawrence's plans and begging him not to go through with them, it is a fun journey.

For more info, check out the Indianapolis Public Library catalog.