Book 11: Dope Sick

This is a young adult urban sci-fi book by Walter Dean Myers. The hero is Jeremy Dance, aka 'Lil J' is trapped in a hell of his own making and his own perceptions. He's a high school drop out with a little thing for heroin, a kid, and a mom who is pretty clearly depressed and an alcoholic. Now though, it's really hit the fan. Lil J is on the run from the cops after a drug deal went bad and his pal shot a cop.

Lil J takes refuge in an abandoned building where he meets a 'spooky' guy named Kelly. Lil J gets to watch his life on the TV in Kelly's place. Kelly wants him to figure out where it all went wrong and what he would change to get himself out of this mess.

I found this a pretty depressing story. The language is tough, but not an insult the grammatically correct. The ending was ambiguous enough that it might be a litmus test of whether your glass is half full or half empty. I thought it was exactly the ending it should have.