No More Us for You

On his first day at his new job working as a security guard at the Long Beach Contemporary Museum, 17-year-old Carlos finds himself cleaning up a pool of urine left by some random guy that just walks in and goes on the floor. Surrounded by some of the strangest "art" he's ever seen, Carlos is sure that this will be a much easier gig than bagging groceries, and will be a great way to buy some nice things for his girlfriend, Mira. During the urine incident, he meets Vanessa, a relatively new classmate at his school who works as the museum's receptionist. Another classmate, Isabel, also meets Vanessa for the first time shortly afterward. The one-year anniversary of the car accident that took Isabel's boyfriend's life is approaching, and Isabel can't keep her mind from wandering off from time to time, where it ends up exploring ideas of death and fate. When she and her best friend, Heidi, befriend Vanessa, Isabel ends up in the middle of a friendship triangle while she tries to sort out her own mind and come to terms with Gabriel's death. Vanessa can tell that Isabel needs some distraction, and she tells Isabel that a guy at her job, Carlos, would be perfect for her. Carlos, on the other hand, is still reeling from a friend's difficult situation, and the hard blow that Mira has just dealt him. On the fateful night of the Valentine's dance, Isabel and Vanessa meet up with Carlos and his best friend, Snake. Both Isabel and Carlos look forward to this opportunity to get to know one another and forget their troubles, but then tragedy strikes, throwing everyone's lives into turmoil. Is this relationship over before it has the opportunity to start? I was surprised at the heavy amount of adult content in this story. The very title is taken from a display at the art museum that reads "No More C***us for You," and rough language is tossed around easily and almost without purpose. This book also focuses on some mature themes, such as drugs, gangs, drunk driving, and teen pregnancy. This is definitely a book for the more mature teen. Reviewed by: Allison Fraclose