New story up on The Absolute, discussing Hunter Gardner’s School.
The upcoming novel School by Hunter Gardner explains that there is so little to do in North Carolina that one might become a major drug dealer out of boredom. No, really.
No, really. Lucas, and his friend Jake, are suburban North Carolina kids who become accidental dealers. They’re not in need of cash, and they don’t use their own product. Lucas seems to be motivated by the challenge of building and running his empire, and Jake — at first — seems to be along for the ride.
The boys set out to increase their empire. Lucas feigns ADD to get a prescription to sell, sells answers for his chem tests, and recruits football-playing Tyler to be their muscle and their car. (Because, as we know, North Carolina is useless without a car.) They meet Christopher, a transfer student making cash by selling English papers for $10 a page, and add his special skills to their business. The boys are a little too bright and too creative for a suburban North Carolina school, which makes them very sympathetic, even if their actions are not exactly legal.
