Born in Detroit in 1951, Dennis Foon, the founder and director with Green Thumb Theatre for 12 years, has written 20 stageplays, TV episodes by the score, and he's won more than 15 awards for his issue-driven work. Adapted from a play, Foon's young adult novel Double or Nothing (Annick $7.95) is about a bright and apparently well-adjusted teenager who gets hooked on the thrills of gambling. Ten-dollar wagers seem relatively harmless at first; then Kit starts making little bets with himself. The more the casinos and racetracks beckon, the more he lies to his mother, dips into his college fund, skips school and misses work. 1-55037-626-8

[Louise Donnelly / BCBW 2000]