Slade, Arthur. Tribes.

Random House, Wendy Lamb. 160p. c2002. 0-385-73003-9. $15.95. JS

The loss of his anthropologist father three years ago devastated 17-year-old Percy, who is about to graduate from high school in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. He now tries to look at the world through his father's eyes, keeping a field journal and observing everything as an anthropologist would. He describes the tribes of high school, for example: "The Logo Tribe exhibits name brands ... The Digerati Tribe worships bytes and silicon chips. The Lipstick/Hairspray Tribe performs elaborate appearance alterations to attract mates ..." Percy and his friend Elissa make up the Observers, though the Jock Tribe doesn't appreciate Percy's observations and frequently thumps him. Percy is beginning to lose it, however, daydreaming too frequently and feeling as if the world is "unreal," oblivious to Elissa's desire to be more than friends. His best friend committed suicide a year ago, and now only pain gives Percy relief from his anxieties: he pierces himself with a pin. He barely makes it to graduation--where his father appears, and we realize that Percy has only pretended to himself that he had died, furious at his father's desertion of the family.

This is an offbeat, somewhat disturbing look at a boy struggling to work through a difficult period in his life. Readers may be confused by the father's reappearance, as Percy states that he is dead at the beginning. It does have a hopeful ending, and YAs may appreciate the anthropological perspective on highschool life and the sardonic humor.