Slade's (Dust) dense novel inventively uses an anthropological lens to view high school life. Narrator 17-year-old Percy explains in a prologue that his anthropologist father died in the Congo three years earlier, after being bitten by a tsetse fly. The teen then reveals that on the night his father died, "Dad materialized at my bedside, extended a ghost arm, and opened his fingers to reveal a pair of glowing spirit eyes... and inserted the magical orbs into my sockets." Percy thereafter refers to fellow humans as "hominids" and frequently relies on amusing anthropological jargon that occasionally grows grating. Yet the narrative effectively conveys why Percy is shunned by fellow students. His most astute observations come at the expense of his peers: "Numerous tribes exist in friction at our school. The Logo Tribe exhibits name brands wherever and whenever possible.... The Lipstick/Hairspray Tribe performs elaborate appearance alterations to attract mates." He describes himself and his sole friend, Elissa as a "cohesive group of two" who are "quasi-omniscient Observers." Other highlights include a mystical parallel with the Ndebele tribe, where his father was working at the time of Percy's birth, and the tribe's ritual marking a boy's entry into manhood. Despite the hero's awkward anthopologic-speak ("No one ever knows what I'm talking about. What it means. No one!"), readers who admire the fellow's spirit may well enjoy this unusual treatise on high school culture; a concluding twist brings this tale down to earth. Ages 12-up. (Sept.)
