This story has been told countless times in YA. Boy on the fringes of teen social scene gets put in a rock and hard place position, (this one with drugs) boy finds himself in new circles, with new friends and love interests. Boy starts to like new people and places and doesn't like his decision to betray new friends. Yada...yada....Aaron was the best part of this book. His discovery or should I say realization that the rich "haves" that everybody thinks have everything are just kids, like himself, doing whatever they feel that they have to to fit in.The anguish that he feels in relation to carrying out his undercover assignment is palpable and seems to build the closer one gets to the end of the book.It gets really easy to feel sorry for the whole lot of them; even though you now that they all got themselves into the situations.The strange, and most redeeming thing about this read is the fact that it ends on a hopeful note. After all the dirt that is done in this book, one is very grateful for this sliver of happy. The title of this book is what attracted me to it: the use of the word narc is bold and eye-catching. I'll admit that it also made me think of the film "21 Jump Street" although I did not expect much humor from this book based on the cover.I was right to not expect much humor because if I had, I would have been disappointed. Instead we have the story of Aaron, coerced into informing about the top drug dealer at his school in exchange for leniency toward his sister (I was very uncomfortable with the way the cop used Aaron's underage sister in this situation and I hope that is atypical behavior for our police officers). Thus stoner and mostly invisible Aaron has to break out of his shell and get close to the power players who have been supplying the kids at his school.My overwhelming feelings toward this book were a big fat MEH. I could not connect with Aaron and had trouble following some of the plot threads. Why was he hanging out with this person? How did Aaron know that she was involved? Is that really the next logical step in bringing down the drug ring? How is that person related to this situation? I'm still not entirely sure how everything came together and was startled to realize how close to the end I was without feeling ready for any kind of conclusion. I did feel a bit more interested at the end because the action became more intense but it also brought in some completely new characters who pushed the book in a different direction and did not erase my confusion.I thought the book did a pretty good job of capturing Aaron's moral conflicts during his stint as a narc though. As he grows closer to some of the people they are targeting, he increasingly wants to protect them, seeing them as messed-up kids themselves who are in need of help and trying to balance that against protecting his own family. I just wish I had felt more interested in Aaron's situation.Overall: A book that failed to capture my interest; cannot recommend.Cover: The dark grime captures the seedy look into the underground drugs ring at the local high school.
What do You think about Narc (2012)?
I really liked this. Sweet and heartbreaking and very, very realistic.Review forthcoming.
—rune
Moving to my maybe later shelf. This isn't working for me, but I can't peg exactly why.
—tstd24
Not my favorite read. I had difficulty sympathizing for Aaron and his situation.
—Brie
