The Odd Squad by Joe Benevento Young adult 163 pages Behler Publications July 2005 Paperback     Meet the Odd Squad. Luis Flores has always been on the fast track to college. Studying hard, Luis takes a page out of his friend Frankie’s book with the hopes that if he studies hard enough and gets into a good school, he will successfully avoid the draft. Frankie Nero, AKA “The Professor.” As one of the few white kids in a mostly African American/Latino neighborhood, Frankie spends most of his time studying, playing baseball and pining for Luis’s sister Laura. Willie King, hepcat and front man for his band, The Raptors. Willie’s biggest ambition is to get his band some paying gigs, hook up with some fly chicas, and generally have a good time. The Queens borough in 1970s New York is a dangerous place full of gangs, drugs and orgies. As these three boys struggle to find themselves and survive street life, friendships will be tested and broken, lives will be threatened and life’s pathways will become uncertain. With the chapters divided into personal narratives, the reader is privy to each character’s perspective on the happenings in the neighborhood. This story is littered with jive slang from the ‘70s, which slows down the narration (ya dig?). As for the content, Joe Benevento writes about the gritty gang life with such vivid details that it is easy to forget these kids are barely sixteen years old.     web reviews   Meghan Fryett/2005 for curled up with a good kid's book   For grown-up fiction, nonfiction and speculative fiction book reviews, visit our sister site Curled Up With a Good Book (www.curledup.com)