Gecko, Terence and Arjay are three teen-aged boys who have been handpicked by Douglas Healy for a new kind of halfway house. Terence is pretty hardcore, Arjay is in juvenile detention because of an accident, and Gecko needs to learn to stand up for himself and stop doing everything his brother tells him to do. Healy has taken full responsibility for the three guys, until he has an accident that takes him out of the picture, leaving the boys responsible for themselves and each other. One mistake is all it will take for them to find themselves back where they came from. No one wants that. You really start rooting for these guys and hoping that they'll see the light and that the world will open to them.
**********
Gecko, Arjay and Terence are all in trouble with the law and in different juvenile detention centers. Gecko drove the getaway car, Terence was part of a very bad gang in Chicago and Arjay killed someone.
Douglas Healy who is a former juvenile delinquent himself received a grant to run an experimental halfway house in New York City so he can help make a difference in the lives of kids who need help.
Gecko, Arjay and Terence live with Healey where they go to school, do community service and attend therapy to help reform their lives. Terence however is struggling and wants to find his gang. One night he decides to sneak out via the fire escape and Gecko and Arjay find out. As they are trying to stop him Healy tries to intervene and he is accidently knocked to the ground and loses consciousness and when he awakens he has amnesia and does not remember the boys or anything he was doing.
With Healy in the hospital and Gecko, Arjay and Terence on their own they have to figure out how to keep Healy’s accident a secret from their teachers, psychologist and their mean case worker. If anyone finds out they will all be back into juvenile detention.
They do everything they can to make their plan work but with three different personality’s things happen. Will they be able to stay under the radar until Healy regains his memory? And will he regain his memory? 249 pages
Douglas Healy who is a former juvenile delinquent himself received a grant to run an experimental halfway house in New York City so he can help make a difference in the lives of kids who need help.
Gecko, Arjay and Terence live with Healey where they go to school, do community service and attend therapy to help reform their lives. Terence however is struggling and wants to find his gang. One night he decides to sneak out via the fire escape and Gecko and Arjay find out. As they are trying to stop him Healy tries to intervene and he is accidently knocked to the ground and loses consciousness and when he awakens he has amnesia and does not remember the boys or anything he was doing.
With Healy in the hospital and Gecko, Arjay and Terence on their own they have to figure out how to keep Healy’s accident a secret from their teachers, psychologist and their mean case worker. If anyone finds out they will all be back into juvenile detention.
They do everything they can to make their plan work but with three different personality’s things happen. Will they be able to stay under the radar until Healy regains his memory? And will he regain his memory? 249 pages
Recommended by: Joleen Waltman, Librarian, Idaho USA
Editor's Note: JUVENILE IN JUSTICE by Richard Ross is a non-fiction title that pairs well with this book...suggested by Naomi Bates.
