Sophomore Undercover

For fifteen-year-old, adopted Vietnamese orphan Dixie Nguyen, high school is one long string of hard-to-swallow humiliations. He shares a locker with a nudist linebacker, his teachers are incompetent, and he's stuck doing fluff pieces for the school newspaper. But Dixie's luck takes a turn when he stumbles across one of the jocks using drugs in the locker room; not only does he finally have something newsworthy to write, but the chance to strike a blow against his tormentors at the school as well.

However, when his editor insists he drop the story and cover homecoming events instead, Dixie sets off on his own unconventional--and often misguided--investigation. He soon discovers that the scandal extends beyond the football team to something far bigger and more sinister than he ever thought possible. Once he follows the guidelines of his hero, Mel Nichols (journalism professor at Fresno State University and author of the textbook Elementary Journalism) this high school reporter just might save the world. That is, of course, if Dixie can stay out of juvenile hall, the hospital, and new age therapy long enough to piece it all together.

Part social satire, part teen-mystery parody, and wholly hilarious, Sophomore Undercover is a dazzling debut that will make headlines with teens everywhere.

"This irreverent debut follows 14-year-old Dixie Nguyen, the only Vietnamese person in his California small town (he's adopted), a social outcast and wannabe journalist. The lone reporter for his high school paper, Dixie glimpses one of the jocks in the locker room receiving an injection and finally has something newsworthy to write about. Launching his own crazy, convoluted investigation, Dixie uncovers a conspiracy involving drugs made in Canada and imported to the U.S. under cover of a pharmaceutical company, then sold to a mysterious albino student who passes them on to the school's perpetually losing football team. The characterizations match the over-the-top plotting; for example, the school counselor asks to be called Huggy Bear. Though it's hard to keep track of the ridiculous connections Dixie makes, his investigation will be funny and compelling to readers who like Esch's in-your-face humor (Dixie's first adoptive father was 'a figurative 'bleeding heart' Berkeley professor, who became a literal bleeding heart Berkeley professor after a car crash two months into the adoption experiment'). Ages 14 — up." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Fifteen-year-old Dixie Nguyen is tormented in high school. His luck turns when he discovers one of the jocks using drugs. He's eager to expose the story in his school newspaper, but when his editor insists he drop the story, Dixie sets off on his own unconventional--and often misguided--investigation.

For fifteen-year-old, adopted Vietnamese orphan Dixie Nguyen, high school is one long string of hard-to-swallow humiliations. He shares a locker with a nudist linebacker, his teachers are incompetent, and he's stuck doing fluff pieces for the school newspaper. But Dixie's luck takes a turn when he stumbles across one of the jocks using drugs in the locker room; not only does he finally have something newsworthy to write, but the chance to strike a blow against his tormentors at the school as well.

However, when his editor insists he drop the story and cover homecoming events instead, Dixie sets off on his own unconventional-and often misguided-investigation. He soon discovers that the scandal extends beyond the football team to something far bigger and more sinister than he ever thought possible. Once he follows the guidelines of his hero, Mel Nichols (journalism professor at Fresno State University and author of the textbook Elementary Journalism) this high school reporter just might save the world. That is, of course, if Dixie can stay out of juvenile hall, the hospital, and new age therapy long enough to piece it all together.

Part social satire, part teen-mystery parody, and wholly hilarious, Sophomore Undercover is a dazzling debut that will make headlines with teens everywhere.