"IwithVY: I told Ms. Gold about how The Evil Three have been after me, feeding off me since fourth grade.
MARCO: It isn't a very pretty story, so if you're looking for 'nice,' you better ask someone else.
ANN: We just have to come up wiht some witnesses for our side. Think! Does anyone owe you any favors?
BRYCE: I figure, Dude, why not make a little spare change on the side? A buck a bet. All's I has to do was explain that liable was civil for guilty, and they swarmed like flies."
Eight first-person narrators give different versions of the same event. Lessons about the inner workings of the judicial system pale beside the insights into human nature. With pathos and a great deal of humor, Amy Goldman Koss keeps you turning pages.
"[Koss] uses the authentic voices of eight diverse teens to create a 'mock trial' in an American Government class. . . . The interactions among the students in and out of the 'courtroom' offer readers intriguing and often disturbing perspectives on popularity, peer pressure, bullying and fairness. In the end, Marco best articulates the outcome: 'Beauty wins and truth is irrelevant. Grim, isn't it?
Publishers Weekly
"Realistic dialogue and fast-paced action will hold interest, and the final verdict is unsettling, but not unexpected."
School Library Journal
"The message is clear: beauty, popularity, and fear are the trinity by which girls rule, and although most teenagers aren't cruel, many are indifferent to the suffering of their peers and are thankful they aren't the ones in the spotlight. . . . compelling reading for teenagers in the trenches."
