Esckilsen, Erik E. The last mall rat.

Houghton Mifflin. 182p. 0-618-23417-9. $15.00.

Mitch, age 15, wants to make some money, but he's too young for a real job. When a salesclerk at the local mall offers him cash to get back at a rude customer, he takes it eagerly, follows the woman into the parking lot, and intimidates her by hissing "caveat emptor" at her. This success quickly results in more business from the fed-up mall salespeople, and creates unexpected popularity for Mitch at school. Pretty soon, demand for his services is overwhelming. He takes on some helpers, including his punky friend Jimmy, and they become known as "the Mall Mafia," with the motto "Insult or be insulted." Jimmy, who gets beaten up at home and hangs out with a dangerous crowd, takes things too far one day and hits a customer, then goes into hiding. Mitch feels responsible, and with the help of his sympathetic father helps jimmy out of his jam and confesses to his own involvement.

The setting is the town of Shunpike Falls, a deteriorating area "in the middle of nowhere" experiencing rising violence and skinhead gangs. In this, his first novel, Esckilsen makes the depressing town and its Onion River Mall convincing, even if Mitch's intimidation business is a bit hard to swallow. With a dark sense of humor rather like M.T. Anderson's in Burger Wuss, this is an intriguing read for junior high students, with a convincing moral about taking responsibility.