Darkness, Death, and Drugs: Welcome to "Jude"

I noticed this book, sitting on the bookshelf of a certain classroom, due to its title. Jude is the German word for Jew, so I thought the book might be about the Holocaust. Boy, was I wrong.
"Jude" is a book about a boy named (any guesses?) Jude, who lives on the wrong side of the tracks. He has lived for fifteen years in West Hartford, Connecticut, a place where you can hear automatic gunfire every night, according to Jude. He has stayed with his abusive, drug dealing father, and tries to make the best of his bad situation. At the beginning of the book, Jude's father is murdered. When the police arrive, they find Jude watching T.V. When Jude gives them an alibi, they immediatly recognize it is a lie. But what does Jude have to hide?
Jude is taken to the police station where he meets the D.A. (district attorney). The D.A. also happens to be his mother. Jude goes to live with his mother and her, boyfriend Harry, in his mother's lavish house. He attends Benton Prep School. And for a while, things go great. Then, Jude meets Nick.
Nick is the most popular boy at Benton, and he has heard of Jude's life in the ghetto. He knows Jude has connections with hustlers (drug dealers) and wants hin to get him some weed. Jude thinks this will be a one time thing, but it soon turns to an every day thing.
Nick is soon selling drugs with Jude's best friend from West Hartford, R.J. R.J. is selling heroine at Benton, a drug which Nick is addicted to. One day, R.J. tells Nick to snort 3 times the regular dose, because the heroine he sells at Benton is not good. However, R.J. made a mistake. A mistake which kills Nick.
Nick's death is more harmful than it seems. Jude's mother has decided to run for mayor, and she is known for his fierce anti-drug policiy. When a boy dies of an overdose and nothing is found out, the Anna's (Anna is Jude's mother's name) opponent accuses the D.A.'s office that they are not working hard enough to find the dealer. These claims begin to take a toll o Anna's campaign.
Harry eventually discovers that Jude was Nick's connection to drugs. Jude convinces Harry that he was not selling drugs, just taking Nick to his old neighborhood. Harry tells him it doesn't metter whether Jude was the dealer or not, it has already done too much damage to Anna's campaign. There is only one thing Jude can do. And that is pretend to be the dealer.
The scheme is crazy, but it works. After Jude is caught, everyone admires Anna for her courage to prosecute her own son for the greater good of the city. I have just reached the end of the trials, and Jude was found guilty of possession with intention to distribute and crimnally negligent homicide. He has been given five years without parol. I am about half way through the book, and I love it. I really want to know what happens in the end.
This book talks not about drugs as the way we usually think of them, which is basically people getting high and acting all stupid. This book talks about the business of drugs, and how much dealing goes undetected.
This books does have a lot of tough things in it. Jude's life is never very good, the kids taking drugs, and the language make this book not for 3rd graders But the lesson is clear. Drugs never do anyone good.