Anita Barnes Lowen (Children's Literature)
Sixteen-year-old Iggy Corso is hardly anyone’s idea of a hero. He is kicked out of high school (terminated this time, Principal Olmos says, because of his long disciplinary history). Iggy’s had a lot to overcome in his short sixteen years: He lives in the projects in New York City. His dad is usually drunk or stoned; his mom has disappeared and is probably holed up who-knows-where in a drug-induced stupor. Mo, his one-time mentor and now his only friend, has gotten mixed up with Freddie, the local drug dealer. Iggy may be a troubled and in-trouble kid--a kid who has overwhelming odds against him--but he has a strength, a gentleness, and an odd innocence that might see him through. And now he has a plan--a plan that might change everyone’s mind about him and could change his life forever. A hard-to-put-down book about a boy who’s hoping to make something of his life. Recommended. 2006, Harcourt, $17.00. Ages 12 to 16.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, September 15, 2006 (Vol. 74, No. 18))
This charmer, set just before Christmas, will haunt readers long after experiencing the final pages. Iggy, a 16-year-old freshman, is about to get kicked out of high school permanently, pending a hearing. Iggy recognizes that he needs a legal guardian and legal representation to accompany him, but he will have neither. His parents are druggies and his meth-addicted mother has been missing for weeks. Iggy decides that he needs a plan to show the world what he's really made of. He finds Mo, his supposed mentor, a college dropout who's renounced all material goods. Short on funds, Mo decides to buy drugs on credit-from the same dealer who supplies Iggy's parents-and then takes Iggy to his wealthy mother's apartment to ask for money. Here, Iggy's plan gels and all readers are left to do is hang on for the incredible ride. Wild plot twists combined with Iggy's endearing narration will keep turning pages and readers cheering this strangely heroic anti-hero. 2006, Harcourt, 272p, $17.00. Category: Fiction. Ages 13 up. © 2006 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Elizabeth Bush (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, November 2006 (Vol. 60, No. 3))
Iggy Corso shares the common demographic of so many teens in YA Fictionland: a drug- and booze-soaked father, a meth-dependent absentee mother, and a high school that has no place for an outcast who always seems to stumble into trouble. Iggy is not your average street hardened anti-hero, though, but a surprisingly innocent young man with only a paltry reserve of social skill. At the nadir of his academic career—facing a board hearing and possible expulsion for approaching a teacher who mistakenly thought he intended her harm—he knows he needs a plan and, inspired by a newspaper story of a guy who saves a little kid’s life, he simply needs to find direction on how to become a hero. The only elder he can think to consult is Mo, a twenty-year-old college dropout who was once assigned as Iggy’s mentor, but who now leads a chemically altered existence, convincing himself that he has righteously eschewed bourgeois banality. Mo takes Iggy with him to visit Joan, Mo’s well-to-do mother, to tap her for some money; Joan ends up taking Iggy under her wing, treating him like the son Mo won’t allow himself to be, and it looks for a few breath-catching moments that Iggy might have found his salvation. But Mo is entangled with a drug dealer demanding payment, and Iggy is streetwise enough to know that Mo can’t handle this alone, and his intervention leads to tragedy. Or does it? Going, who fashioned an equally unlikely schlumpf into an engaging protagonist in Fat Kid Rules the World (BCCB 06/03), leaves readers with the disturbing possibility that Iggy’s death may not be tragedy but the ironic fulfillment of his only goal. There’s an artless kind of poetry to Iggy’s narration, and double spacing between paragraphs makes the present progressive action fly by, while Iggy, his plan, and his ultimate release are bound to trouble the mind for some time to come. Review Code: R -- Recommended. (c) Copyright 2006, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2006, Harcourt, 260p., $17.00. Grades 9-12.

Kim Reybitz (The Kutztown University Book Review, Spring 2007)
Here’s my plan so far: 1) make a plan; 2) get out of the projects; 3) do something with my life; 4) change everyone’s mind about me; 5) get back into school. Easier said than done for someone with Iggy’s history. As a child born to drug addicted, neglectful parents, Iggy has suffered developmental delays. As a result, he is a freshman when he should be a junior. His principal has faith in him, but he has made one too many mistakes, and is now facing an expulsion hearing. To make matters worse, his best friend Mo, a pre-law school drop out, is now indebted to the same dangerous drug dealer that deals to his parents. He is convinced that there must be something “meaningful” that he can do to get his life back on track. This novel presents a realistic portrait of a struggling youth up against numerous obstacles. The main character is determined to make a positive contribution, but is it possible given his surroundings? The author brings the reader into the harsh reality of poverty and drug use and its overwhelming influence. Contains adult language and situations. Category: Fiction.. 2006, Harcourt, $17.00. Ages 15 up.

Ed Goldberg (VOYA, October 2006 (Vol. 29, No. 4))
Iggy has problems. He lives in the projects. His parents are addicts. His mother disappeared. Repeating ninth grade for the third time, he faces suspension for sassing a teacher. His principal thinks that Iggy is a good kid, with a contribution to make. All he needs is a plan. Iggy's only friend, Mo, has his own problems. Several years older, he was suspended from pre-law school for drug possession. He has renounced his parent's wealth, lives in squalor, and is also an addict. On this particular day, Iggy finds Mo at home, sick and in need of money. Mo has a plan to hit his mother up for some cash. She welcomes them, inviting them to stay a few days. Despite Mo's rejections of her values, she loves him. The story follows both Mo's and Iggy's plans. Iggy's tale juxtaposes a mentally slow kid from the projects, wanting to do right but not quite knowing how, against a bright but misguided kid who could have it all but gets diverted. Going's first-person narrative writing reflects Iggy's fuzzy mind. She skillfully contrasts Iggy's and Mo's mother's surroundings, squalor versus wealth. Iggy daydreams about conversations regarding his imagined achievements and people's altered opinions of him, which makes for fun reading. Readers feel sorry for the characters, all of whom live in partially imaginary worlds, and they will want to find out how Iggy's and Mo's plans play out. The novel might not have universal appeal and salesmanship might be required, but once sold, readers will stick with it. VOYA CODES: 4Q 3P S (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Will appeal with pushing; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2006, Harcourt, 272p., $17. Ages 15 to 18.

Abbe Goldberg, Teen Reviewer (VOYA, October 2006 (Vol. 29, No. 4))
This is Going's best book yet. The main character, Iggy, lives a life surrounded by drugs and poverty, a life that is difficult to break away from in order to succeed. Iggy is a character whom the reader wants to be triumphant in the end. Teenagers will read this book because they will want to follow Iggy's story to see if a boy can make something of his life by himself. VOYA CODES: 3Q 3P S (Readable without serious defects; Will appeal with pushing; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2006, Harcourt, 272p., $17. Ages 15 to 18.