Background

When Reese is chosen for a work-release program at a senior center, he looks at it as a way to avoid a few fights and to prove that he is capable of responsibility. What he doesn’t realize he will gain from this experience is a close friendship with an unlikely man, the racist Mr. Hooft. As Mr. Hooft begins to share poignant moments from his internment in a Japanese war camp, he encourages Reese to share his own stories. For the first time in his life, Reese starts to think about survival and how it’s not always physical as much as it is mental. Walter Dean Myers, one of the most accomplished of YA authors writing today, has produced a terrific coming-of-age story that nails the gritty details of juvenile hall without ever once making Reese seem a victim. It’s not his fault he has a rotten home life, but by the power of his choices, he can make something good out of it.

Fun Fact

This book is often given out to children of juvie to read!

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