From National Book Award-winning, New York Times-bestselling author and renowned poet Elizabeth Acevedo comes a white-knuckle journey to self-understanding and doing the right thing, no matter the cost.
Lil is anything but small. She’s rebellious, she's loyal; she's figuring out what kind of good person she wants to be, or if she wants to be a good person at all. But more than anything? Lil wants to be free.
When her instinct for freedom leads to another stay in D.C. juvenile detention, Lil knows she’s lucky to just be on probation. But judgment, guilt, and an ankle monitor weigh heavily on her, and she can’t shake that pinned-down feeling.
The only person who might understand is her big brother, Aldwin. Except he’s more distant now than just the hundred miles where he’s away at college. Something’s been off with him for a couple of months, but only Lil seems to realize how important it is to get to him.
As her court hearing ticks closer, a question looms over Lil as the missed phone calls and strange texts from her brother pile up: will she follow the rules until her sentencing, or put her future freedom on the line?---from the publisher
336 pages 978-0062882790 Ages 13 and up
Keywords: finding yourself, juvenile detention, brothers and sisters, understanding others, freedom, choices, family dynamics, mental illness, schizophrenia, impulse control issues, survival, creative writing, 13 year old, 14 year old, 15 year old
- Plot: Lil, on probation and wearing an ankle monitor, must decide whether to obey her court-ordered restrictions or travel to help her brother, who is showing signs of a mental health crisis.
- Themes: Freedom, family loyalty, mental health, and navigating difficult choices.
