Saint Iggy - K.L. Going

Genres: Social Issues
Recommended Grades: 9 Up

I just got done reading Saint Iggy by K.L Going. The book is about this kid named Iggy Corso. Iggy is an interesting dude. He is sort of simple minded, probably because of all the drugs his mom did when she was pregnant with him. He is not a bad kid but he always seems to be in trouble. He is getting kicked out of school - not for doing anything particularly terrible, mainly just for all of the little things that he has done throughout the course of his high school career. Iggy has a hearing in front of the school board to determine his fate - his principal tells Iggy that he should bring his parents, and that if he really wants to stay in school he needs to come up with a plan, figure out a way to show that he can make a contribution to society. Getting his parents to show could be a problem - his mom is AWOL, gone for the last two weeks on a meth bender. His dad is around, but he is usually sleeping on the couch and would be too strung out on heroin to show up anyway. Iggy's only hope is to make a big contribution, something that will get into the papers, and he has to do that quick.

Iggy turns to his friend Mo for help. Mo, a twenty-year old college drop out, is kind of like Iggy's mentor. Iggy goes to Mo hoping Mo will be able to help him - unfortunately Mo has got his own problems going on. The world sucks and the only way it will get better is if Mo to renounces all of his worldly possessions and desires and becomes a Hare Krishna. But first he needs to get high. Thus begins a series of sometimes funny, sometimes sad events that ultimately lead Iggy to his contribution.

I found this book to be really thought provoking. This book does a good job of illustrating how different people's priorities are when they take different things for granted. Mo, who comes from an affluent background, hates his mother because she forgave his father for cheating on her. Iggy, despite all of the things that his parents have put him through, really just wants to see his mother one more time to know that she is still alive. This book is about drug addiction and how it affects both the poor and the rich. This book is also about being poor and being rich and how often those two world, despite their differences, are often very alike.

K.L. Going is a really great writer - she hit a home run with Fat Kid Rules the World and she did a great job with this book as well. I really liked the first 99% of this book. I was very disappointed by the almost cliche yet completely surprise ending - I know that seems like an oxymoron but you will know what I mean if you read the book. That said this book is still worth a read. Iggy Corso is a solid character that is easy to empathize with. Mo is also another great character - kind of like Holden Caulfield only a few years older. I would recommend this book to high school aged kids, especially those dealing with addiction in their families.