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The Losers' Club, Vancouver film critic John Lekich's first young adult novel, was nominated for the 2002 Governor General's Award for children's literature. Fifteen-year-old Alex Sherwood, best known to kids at Marshall McLuhan High as "Savior" Sherwood, is a founding member of the Losers' Club, a group of school outcasts that he and his best friends Winston Churchill Chang and Manny Crandall have formed to deal with the aggressive bullying dealt out to them by school heavy Jerry Whitman. Alex has a lot to deal with--his dad's in hiding after a bad business deal, while the woman who's supposed to be looking after him has followed her flamenco teacher to South America. He's getting sick of Jerry's patronizing attitudes, has a rotten case of zits, and, to top it off, it appears that Julie Spenser is interested in him, a definite first for Alex. Alex also has cerebral palsy, but Lekich is quick to make Alex's disability just part and parcel of the challenges he faces as a teen.
When the strain of trying to cope with Jerry Whitman gets to be too much, Alex suggests that they duke it out in a local Christmas lights competition. With the help of a whole host of teens dubbed "losers" by Jerry, the mysterious Julie Spenser, and some amazing adults, Alex is able to show Jerry once and for all who the loser really is. Lekich has created a powerful and empowering teen novel that confronts a number of difficult issues including bullying, self-esteem, and peer pressure and shows how kids can come out on top. What particularly stands out is how Lekich handles Alex's cerebral palsy--he's not a victim of his disability, but a unique and resilient individual ready to confront the world in his own way. Lekich writes from personal experience. He's had to deal with cerebral palsy too, and like Alex Sherwood, he's made it part of who he is: a new and exciting voice in young adult fiction. --Jeffrey Canton
From School Library Journal
Grade 9-10-Alex Sherwood and his friends, Winston Chang and Manny Crandall, attend McLuhan High School and are members of "The Losers' Club." Alex has cerebral palsy. He catches the eye of Julie Spenser, a girl who dresses in black because she can't find anything darker to wear. Jerry Whitman, the school tyrant who extorts money from his fellow students, is interested in Julie and challenges Alex to a showdown. If the Losers' Club wins the "Festival of Lights" competition, Jerry will shut down his extortion ring. If Jerry wins, the Losers' Club will disband. Alex eventually triumphs, winning both the competition and the girl. Lekich's debut novel is lacking in plot and character development. The story meanders aimlessly for the first 100 pages before reaching its predictable conclusion. One never comes to care about or empathize with the characters because Alex and his friends are two-dimensional. The dialogue is believable and flows smoothly, but the humor is somewhat stilted and forced. The author shows some promise, but doesn't quite deliver.
Robert Gray, East Central Regional Library, Cambridge, MNCopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
