PAPER BAG MASK

In Heasley’s YA novel, a harmless prank results in an attempt to right a perceived wrong.

Young people are often the ones to embrace the impulse to speak truth to power, and sometimes they do so before they fully understand the consequences of their actions. This novel, set in California, presents a tale of misunderstanding alongside a story of fierce, self-righteous youth seeking justice. Soon after Hamilton High School student Redmond Fairweather steals his teacher’s favorite classroom prop, called the Whomper, he witnesses what he believes to be a drug deal between that instructor, Mr. Street, and fellow student Jasmine Hill. Fueled by distrust and rumors, Redmond and his friends begin a campaign to bring the teacher down. The situation escalates, putting the kids and the school under increasing community pressure. As the story goes on, the young people go through changes: The outcast becomes popular; the seemingly happy girl is revealed to harbor family secrets. But their fragility and their egos begin to erode their nobler impulses. Heasley’s novel unusually blends prose and comic-book panels, but it occasionally drags, lingering too long on scenes involving circular planning. The backstories of three major characters, each from a dysfunctional family, feel underdeveloped; their private situations seem meant to offer a counterpoint to what readers learn about Mr. Street, but the author doesn’t spend enough time on this material to make it resonate. The plot also leaves one thread unresolved—the identity of a key character. Still, it’s a deeply contemplative novel that achieves many of its goals through character-driven storytelling and a carefully crafted narrative structure, without ever becoming preachy. Readers will find it a worthy tale about youngsters seeking a more just world.

A deceptively simple story that offers a meditation on the deeply human drive to do the right thing.