Book Description
for The Blue Helmet by William Bell
From The United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY)
Lee Mercer is angry with life and is on a fast track to trouble. When a cop intervenes and has Lee sent to live with his Aunt Reena outside of Toronto, Lee realizes he had better cooperate or else he will spend his best years behind bars. He helps out in his aunt’s café and gradually builds a new self-image as well as a delivery business on his bike. He befriends some of the local residents, among them Cutter, a depressed genius who feels the govern ment is out to get him. When Cutter dies and leaves his property to Lee, his only friend, Lee has to clean out Cutter’s house and files of research. As he reads Cutter’s journals of being a Blue Helmet Peacekeeper, he realizes there are multiple ways to respond to violence and hurt. CLA Young Adult Book Award (2007). sc