Overview

Bestselling author of Scythe and Challenger Deep Neal Shusterman, here with coauthors Debra Young and Michelle Knowlden, tells an intense yet tender story of two teens, trapped in impossible circumstances and unjust systems, willing to risk everything for love—no matter the consequences. Adriana knows that if she can manage to keep her head down for the next seven months, she might be able to get through her sentence in the Compass juvenile detention center. Thankfully, she’s allowed to keep her journal, where she writes down her most private thoughts when her feelings get too big. Until the day she opens her journal and discovers that her thoughts are no longer so private. Someone has read her writings—and has written back. A boy who lives on the other side of the gender-divided detention center. A boy who sparks a fire in her to write back. Jon’s story is different than Adriana’s; he’s already been at Compass for years and will be in the system for years to come. Still, when he reads the words Adriana writes to him, it makes him feel like the walls that hold them in have melted away. This fast-paced, highly compelling tour de force novel exposes what life is like in detention—and reveals the hearts of two teens who are forced to live in desperate circumstances. 

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9780062875761

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Reviews

"""Told in Jon’s and Adriana’s alternating perspectives, the story paints a vivid picture of a harsh reality.... An evocative glimpse into an unjust and unforgiving system."" — Kirkus Reviews ""The intersectionally diverse teen characters that populate this smoothly plotted, emotionally intense read are fully developed and represent a range of incarceration experiences... Close third-person narration melds letters and slam poetry–inspired verse to deliver a high-stakes, dual-perspective love story that critiques juvenile incarceration and celebrates the connective power of the written word."" — Publishers Weekly ""With its emotional intensity, thoughtful storytelling, and wrenching conclusion, this addictive, gently romantic page-turner will hit readers in both the heart and the gut. Hand this to readers who value ride-or-die friendships and hard-won heartache, and those who grew up loving Holes and are ready to grapple with a grittier take on juvenile justice."" — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books"

"""Told in Jon’s and Adriana’s alternating perspectives, the story paints a vivid picture of a harsh reality but misses the opportunity to address class, race, and the impact of racism in the juvenile detention system in meaningful ways. An evocative glimpse into an unjust and unforgiving system with a gooey love story at its core."" — Kirkus Reviews"

Author Information

Neal Shusterman is the New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of Bruiser, which was a Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC) choice, a YALSA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults pick, and on twelve state lists; The Schwa Was Here; and the Unwind dystology, among many other books. He lives in California with his four children.

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