Gaetz, Dayle Campbell. No Problem. Orca, 2006 (reprint). ISBN 978-1551435565 112 pp. $

****

In No Problem, baseball player Curt tries knock-out painkillers for a sore shoulder, and with the enticement of a fast older woman, quickly slides down a slippery slope to cocaine use. School, sports and job all go to hell as he indulges in his new feel-good pastime. Curt’s moral dilemma would make a excellent topic for classroom discussion.

Ninety pages of enlarged typeface doesn’t leave a whole lot of room for details such as setting and character development, but the quick pace, suspense, and sports action blended with a light “love interest” subplot will hold the reader’s attention once the snazzy cover has hooked. While not quite as tightly written as those by Beth Goobie and William Bell (side note: when is Orca going to commission Don Trembath to write a Soundings book?), the series as a whole is highly recommended. The Canadian settings generally don’t limit the audience. Recommended for school and public libraries.