Sleep Rough Tonight Book

Alex's class-clown antics make him a target for bullies, but he's never been afraid until now. The Jockey, the older boy Alex inadvertently betrayed to the police, is back from juvenile detention. But the Jockey seems to want to resume their friendship and to teach Alex real toughness. So Alex agrees to "sleep rough" with the Jockey, surviving the dangerous city streets with only his wits, to prove himself. As the night unfolds, Alex finds that the Jockey isn't interested in teaching him at all-he wants revenge. Alex's frightening ordeal will have thriller fans on the edge of their seats.

School Library Journal

Gr 8-10-Alex is a skinny kid with a wit that won't allow him to just shut up in dangerous situations. At school, he's teased by bigger, meaner students-teasing that goes so far as toilet dunking-but he doesn't feel bullied. When a former idol, the Jockey, returns from reform school, Alex is frightened but falls in with him, leading to a nighttime adventure. This Australian novel is as gritty as the title suggests, but character development is underdone, leaving Alex, the Jockey, and Alex's friend Marta all just a short step away from being caricatures. The protagonist is relatively likable, but his devotion to the Jockey lacks realistic emotional resonance. Their exploits indeed become harrowing, but the premise-that by spending the night on their own in the city they will be doing something daring-doesn't seem, at first, to be bold enough to suit the fancy of either boy. Marta's character is just as problematic as it wavers between goody-goody and soul mate. Kevin Brooks's Kissing the Rain (Scholastic, 2004) plowed some of this same ground, with more aesthetic success.-Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CA Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.