Dirt Road Home by Watt Key

Dirt Road Home by Watt Key is the companion novel to Alabama Moon, one of the 2010-2011 Maud Hart Lovelace nominees. Dirt Road Home is about Hal, a fifteen year old boy who, though a series of bad decisions, winds up in Hellenweiler, a home for seriously troubled boys. Hal was sent to Pinson, a different home for boys after stealing some bikes and disrespecting his mother. He and two friends, Moon and Kit, escaped from there and lived off the land in rugged Alabama until Hal split from the others and made his way home to his father. He would have been home free, but Moon needed his help, so he came forward and ended up helping Moon, but being sent to Hellenweiler in the end. Determined to get out right away, Hal decides to straighten up and follow the rules. His father, also determined to be reunited with Hal decides to clean up his act and stop drinking. They have been told by their lawyer that if they can both stay out of trouble, Hal will be out before they know it. Unfortunately, the two ruling gangs at Hellenweiler are just as determined to force Hal to choose sides. They pick fights with him, steal his things, and make life miserable. The worst news of all comes when Hal realizes that even the guards at Hellenweiler are corrupt and have been falsifying his behavior reports! Unable to prove his innocence, Hal is near the breaking point and ready to give in to the constant provoking by the other boys. But, two unlikely friends and a crazy plan give Hal hope that he still may be able to leave Hellenweiler for good.

This was a great story! I was expecting it to be like Alabama Moon, but it was completely different. Most of the story takes place at the boys' home and deals with Hal's struggle to do the right thing. I really liked the way the author wove parts of Alabama Moon into the story. I also liked the way I got to know the other characters in the story through their actions and discussions with Hal.

Boot Camp by Todd Strasser

Boot Camp by Todd Strasser is about 15 year old Garrett and his experiences at Lake Harmony, a boot camp for "troubled" teens. Garrett is an incredibly smart boy who falls in love with the wrong girl, his math teacher. Because his high-class, high-power parents think he's an embarrassment and will never stop seeing Sabrina, they hire people to kidnap him in the middle of the night and send him to boot camp. Lake Harmony is anything but harmonious. Garrett is abused - physically and mentally - in hopes of brainwashing him and turning him into the kind of kid his parents always wanted. Garrett is tough, and withstands this atrocious treatment for 7 months before agreeing to an escape plan hatched by the only two prisoners on his side. From there, it only gets worse for Garrett, as his conscious kicks in and forces him to save and protect the very people who are trying to capture him... leading to his eventual return to Lake Harmony, only to endure the worse beatings imaginable. He's made to be an example to the other prisoners of what happens when one tries to escape.

This was an amazing book. I had no idea there are really boot camps like Lake Harmony, kidnapping minors and beating the will out of them. The afterword in this book is eye-opening. Todd Strasser is an awesome author who always finds the most controversial and interesting topics to expose. This one is definitely for a more mature audience due to violence and topic.

Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie S. Tolan

Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie S. Tolan is about juvenile delinquent, Jake Semple and his experience living with the Applewhite family. Jake has had it rough - his parents are in jail on drug charges, he's been kicked out of nearly every public school in Rhode Island, he'd been accused of burning down the most recent school from which he was expelled, and even his grandfather doesn't want him. That's how he ends up in foster care at the Applewhite's acreage, Wit's End. Every member of the Applewhite family is an artist of some kind, except the middle child, E.D. Her calling in life is organization. She's the only one of the many Applewhites that doesn't accept Jake immediately. She's the only one who cares about his all black clothes, his swearing, his fire-engine red spiky hair, and his bad attitude. Once Jake realizes that those thinks don't get a rise out of anyone anymore, he just sort of loses them. The Applewhite kids are all home-schooled and get to learn by doing what interests them. Jake ends up helping E.D. with her butterfly project, much to the chagrin of them both. Eventually, Jake ends up finding a passion in the arts that he never would have expected, and a love for a family (including a pushy puppy) that he never could have imagined.

First, I have to begin by stating that I have passed up reading this book MANY times purely based on the cover. I should have remembered not to judge a book by its cover, because Surviving the Applewhites was AWESOME! I would love to be a part of the crazy Applewhite family! What a great story.

Rash by Pete Hautman

Rash by Pete Hautman is set in the year 2074 when just about everything fun is illegal - french fries, football, owning a large dog, even walking without a helmet! Just calling someone a name could get you locked up in prison. In fact, the USSA (United Safer States of America) runs on prison labor because so many citizens are in jail! Bo is a sixteen-year-old high school student who has already incurred two infarctions. With the three strikes you're out law, he is on his way to a work camp in northern Canada after trying to punch out the guy who wants to steal Bo's girlfriend. At the camp, Bo and several other students are forced to play football illegally (without protective gear!), just for the head guard's amusement. Luckily, Bo created an artificially intelligent (AI) lifeform on his laptop (WindO) who is working hard to get him out. Bork seems to be Bo's only friend and only hope.

This was a great book! I'm not a huge sci fi fan, but this futuristic look at society was really interesting. People in the USA decide it would be better to be safe than free. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in computers, football, and/or sci fi adventures. There is some mature language.

Peak by Roland Smith

Peak by Roland Smith is about a boy named Peak who got into BIG trouble when he used his climbing gear to scale some of the tallest buildings in New York City. When he finally got caught spray painting his blue mountain tags at the top of the Woolworth Building, his sentence was to live out the rest of his days until his 18th birthday as far away from New York as possible. He went to Tibet to live with his dad, a famous climber. Little did Peak know that his dad had different plans for him. Josh, Peak's dad, ran a mountain climbing business that took paying guests up to the tallest peaks, including Everest. Josh has a plan for Peak to be the youngest American to make it to the summit of Mt. Everest!

This was a great book - full of action, adventure and suspense! I was really rooting for Peak the entire time. The ending was a surprise, but I wouldn't change it! Awesome adventure story!! This is one of the 2009 - 2010 Maud Hart Lovelace Nominees.

The Juvie Three by Gordan Korman

The Juvie Three by Gordan Korman is about Gecko, Arjay, and Terrance, three juvenile delinquents who get a second chance at freedom. These three ended up in correctional facilities for everything from being the get-away driver to manslaughter. Who knows why Doug Healy is working so hard to get them out! Doug runs a half-way-house in downtown New York for kids just like Gecko, Arjay, and Terrance. The three boys know if they mess up their schooling, community service, and therapy, they're back in the slammer. That doesn't prevent them from trying to explore a little bit. When Terrance tries to sneak out the balcony fire escape, there is a scuffle and Doug Healy falls three stories. He hits his head, is taken to the hospital, and falls into a coma. The boys don't know what do to - if they tell the police, they'll all be sent back to jail - if they don't they run the risk of getting caught. They think Doug will be released from the hospital soon and try to go on with their new-found free lives, following all of the rules as best they can. Unfortunately, when Doug wakes up from his coma, he has amnesia! Now the boys are really in trouble! Can they maintain their positive lifestyle changes with the pressures of gangs, violence, music, and girls? What happens when their social service agent stops by for one of her surprise visits? Will the nasty, nosy neighbor, Mrs. Leibowitz notice anything? Can the boys survive together, despite not getting along with one another?

I really liked this book. My favorite character was Arjay - the kid who just happened to wind up in a really terrible situation through no fault of his own, trying to make the best of it and hoping things turn out OK. I think any person reading this book will relate to one of the four main characters in some way.