Want
to take a walk inside a secure detention center in New York state in
the aughts? Goodman captures the authentic details of the dynamics
among staff and incarcerated youth to an uncanny degree. Although
Louis, the novel’s protagonist, is never sharply drawn enough to warrant
the reader’s attachment, several supporting characters are, and in
spite of the wan first fifty pages, once Louis gets on the bus heading
upstate, the reader is undoubtedly along for the ride. Students who
have not yet experienced secure detention environments may appreciate
the heads up or, perhaps, the history. This novel could pair
interestingly with Walter Dean Myers’ Monster or Lockdown, or the
author’s previously published Something Like Hope. The text itself begs a
reading of London’s classic, Call of the Wild.--Jessica Fenster-Sparber
Not yet published, due out May 2013 from Delacorte Press.
No comments:
Post a Comment