Reviewed by: Derailed Loretta Gaffney Ripslinger, Jon Derailed. Flux/Llewellyn, 2006 [258p] Paper ed. ISBN 0-7387-0888-7$8.95 Reviewed from galleys Ad Gr. 9-12 Star linebacker Wendell Stoneking ("Stony" to everyone but his guidance counselor, Mr. Duval) isn't worried about life after high school. After propelling the football team to State, Stony doesn't look forward to anything beyond a steady job in the quarry, like the one his father holds. Failing American Lit will propel him straight off the team, though, so Mr. Duval insists that Stony avail himself of the school's peer-tutoring program. Stony figures he'll convince his tutor to do his homework for him, but Robyn, a brainy transfer student who has a son and a few too many secrets, won't let him off the hook so easily. Stony finds himself increasingly drawn to Robyn, as well as to her son, Logan; then Robyn's abusive boyfriend, recently released from prison, finally tracks Robyn down, and Stony is caught up in a harrowing series of events as he does everything he can to protect Robyn and Logan. The wistful rendering of small-town Iowa life—a fishing trip taken by Stony, Robyn, and Logan has especially vivid, evocative detail—and the quest of a working-class kid to circumvent a grim future are compelling, as Stony gradually awakens to life's possibilities. Unfortunately, the story veers into melodrama as soon as Robyn's ex enters the picture, and the thrill of the over-the-top race to conclusion (featuring Logan's kidnapping and Robyn's near-rape) is muddied by stilted dialogue, most of it in the service of explaining why the protagonists never call the police. For a subtler rendering of the limitations and attractions of small-town Midwestern life and a similarly poignant romance between damaged people, Will Leitch's Catch (BCCB 11/05) will fill the bill; less patient readers, however, will enjoy this novel's careening ride. Copyright © 2006 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois