121 Express

By Monique Polak

The students of the 121 Express are infamous for bad behavior. Lucas knows his role on the bus will determine his social standing at his new school. When a cool troublemaker singles him out, he saves himself by teasing another kid. His ploy works, and soon Lucas is right in the center of the mayhem on the bus. He loves his new popularity, but when the fun and games get out of control, Lucas begins to question his choices.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
• Release date: Mar 1, 2008
• ISBN: 9781551439808

Monique Polak

Monique Polak is the author of more than thirty books for young people. She is the three-time winner of the Quebec Writers' Federation Prize for Children's and YA Literature for her novels Hate Mail, What World is Left and Room for One More. In addition to teaching at Marianopolis College in Montreal, Monique is a freelance journalist whose work has appeared in Maclean's Magazine, the Montreal Gazette and other Postmedia newspapers. She is also a columnist on ICI Radio-Canada's Plus on est de fous, plus on lit! In 2016, Monique was the CBC/Quebec Writers' Federation inaugural writer-in-residence. Monique lives in Montreal.

Reviews for 121 Express

[hilarysi624 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Lucas Samson, known as “Brainiac” at his last school, decides during his first day taking the 121 Express home from Lorne Crest Academy that he will be a member of the cool group no matter what the price. In this case, the cost includes insulting the nerds on the bus and engaging in dangerous behavior. Monique Polak explores the reasons behind delinquent behavior and the emotional effects of group bullying on both the group and their victims. However, it is difficult to identify with the main character, who has continuous attacks of conscience but refuses to stop participating in the activities that make him so uncomfortable. Polak also fails to provide much depth to supporting characters, which provides the effect of distancing Lucas even from those characters who are supposed to be his friends. For the reader, this makes for a not very compelling story. This book should be considered by public libraries or middle school media libraries that are lacking content on bullying as an inexpensive addition to fill the gap.