The Juvie Three

The Juvie Three by Gordon Korman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Gordon Korman has come a long way from the days of Bruno & Boots' goofy antics at MacDonald Hall. In The Juvie Three Korman tells the story of three boys convicted of crimes ranging from driving a getaway car to theft to manslaughter. They are plucked from their various forms of jail by Douglas Healy, himself a survivor of juvenile detention, and taken to live in an experimental halfway house in New York City. It is not an easy transition for any of them, especially Terrence, the only one with the mindset of a criminal and no concept of how lucky he has been thus far. When a scuffle on the fire escape results in a bloody concussion and amnesia for Healy, the boys panic and drop him off at a hospital, convinced that the authorities would never believe it was an accident.  They succeed in pretending all is normal...until a phone call from the social worker sends them into a tailspin.

For readers' advisors: story and character doorways, likely a good choice for reluctant readers, particularly boys

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