The Poker Diaries

Lulu lives with her cultured mother on New York's Central Park West, but she feels "most definitely more downtown than uptown," like her gambler father, with whom she spends some weekends in Hell's Kitchen. Lulu, who narrates, plays backroom poker herself and, thanks to her innate ability to read people and trust her gut, she often wins. But when Lulu gambles to win back her friend's prized watch, she ends up getting filmed and blackmailed. She knows if the film gets to the media, it could spell the end to her mother's happy engagement to the mayor. Readers will likely be drawn in by Conrad's (High School Bites ) unique premise, especially given the popularity of gambling among teens. The characters could have been flushed out further (her parents, for example, never become more than their uptown/downtown molds) but the author escalates the tension well. In the end, Lulu learns to trust the mayor and realizes she is a "blend of both worlds." Her story is lively and straightforward enough to keep readers at the table. Lulu's obvious passion for poker enhances the fun: she begins each chapter with a piece of poker advice (Rule #1, "When playing strip poker, wear a sexy bra"), narrates a glossary of "common poker slang" and explains the rules to different games. She even suggests what to do about gambling addiction. Ages 12-up. (Jan.)