Surf Mules
a YA novel by G. Neri
Coming in Summer '09
from Putnam Books for Young Readers

Surfers say if you find the perfect wave, you can ride it forever. High school seniors Logan Tom and Z-boy Adams are trying to hold onto that ride—surfing, getting high, playing video games. But now, a week from graduation, everything is literally going to pot.

Logan must decide between abandoning the surfer lifestyle to pursue college, or sticking around to save his buddy Z-boy, who has been kicked out of high school and his parents’ house. On top of that, Logan has to deal with a deadbeat dad pushing the family into bankruptcy, a mom on the verge of a breakdown, and a surfer girl named Emmie who suddenly wants to be more than just friends.

When Fin Hamilton, a former friend from Logan’s past, dies suddenly in a freak surfing accident, Logan falls into a deep funk. But Z-boy convinces him there may be a silver lining—and a way to hold onto the surfer life. The boys are offered a chance to take over Jimmy’s old job as drug runners for 21-year-old kingpin Billy Broza. The gig: drive a delivery across country in two and a half days.

With enough money at stake to get Logan’s mom out of debt and Z-boy back on his feet, the boys see an opportunity that could keep them from ever having to sell out to corporate America. But what starts off as a summer job adventure in disorganized crime, quickly turns into a dangerous life-or-death quest for answers.

Fueled by paranoia and caffeine, and on their first trip alone into the real world, the boys find their friendship and loyalty pushed to the limits. Mysterious cars, golfing lesbians, Texas surf Nazis, and the ever-present highway patrol all turn what was supposed to be an easy gig into an Easy Rider nightmare. Now all these surf mules have to do is survive.