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Overview
I shouldn't have come back to Miami . . . I've been escaping cops' notice for a year now. I'm no longer Michael Daye, high school athlete with a promising future. Now I look like someone whit no future.
When Michael saw a chance to leave town with a traveling carnival a year ago, he took it. Back then, his home life was spinning violently out of control. The carnival, with its "no questions asked" policy, seemed like a welcome escape. But now Michael's job has brought him back to Miami, where his mother is on trial for murder, making him wonder how much longer he can hide from his past . . . and his future.
A year after running away with a traveling carnival to escape his unbearable home life, sixteen-year-old Michael returns to Miami, Florida, to find that his mother is going on trial for the murder of his abusive stepfather.
Synopsis
A year ago, Michael Daye escaped his violent home life by joining a traveling fair. Now his mother is on trial for murdering his brutal stepfather and only Michael knows the truth that can save her. But if he reveals the truth about his past, will he give up his newfound freedom forever? A fresh, unflinching look at domestic violence from the acclaimed author of Breathing Underwater.
o Alex Flinn's first novel, Breathing Underwater, received rave reviews and numerous honors, including a Publishers Weekly Flying Start. In a starred review, Kirkus called Nothing to Lose "arresting," and said, "As she did in Breathing Underwater, Flinn does a masterful job of exploring domestic violence."
o During her career as a lawyer, Flinn dealt with domestic abuse. She brings an objective yet insider view to this topic, and has gained a reputation as an author who can write gripping, honest fiction.
o This powerful, character–driven novel will appeal to adults and teens across the board who simply enjoy fine fiction.
Ages 13+
The Washington Post
Alex Flinn has said she drew on two experiences to write this book: her childhood love of carnivals and her work as a lawyer trying domestic violence cases. She writes vividly about both here, which sets her novel apart from the formula-driven pack. — Elizabeth Ward
Editorials
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"An absorbing read. Readers will appreciate seeing a tough topic taken beyond melodrama."The Horn Book
"The dialogue crackles with danger and attitude; the plot contains enough twists and revelations to keep readers riveted."ALA Booklist
"A fastpaced, readable mystery that is rooted in the psychology of batteredspouse syndrome and its impact on the entire family."The Bulletin for the Center for Children's Books
“An absorbing read. Readers will appreciate seeing a tough topic taken beyond melodrama.”The Washington Post
Alex Flinn has said she drew on two experiences to write this book: her childhood love of carnivals and her work as a lawyer trying domestic violence cases. She writes vividly about both here, which sets her novel apart from the formula-driven pack. — Elizabeth WardMichael Cart
The author of Breathing Underwater (2001) and Breaking Point (2002) mines her legal background to good effect in this new novel. A year has passed since Michael fled his impossible home life to join a traveling carnival. Now the 17-year-old runaway has returned to Miami to find his mother going on trial for the murder of his savagely abusive stepfather. What really happened? Only Michael knows the whole truth, but will he come forward? In a narrative that--in brief, alternating chapters--moves backward and forward in time, Flinn expertly reveals how very complicated this question is. The result is a fast-paced, readable mystery that is rooted in the psychology of battered-spouse syndrome and its impact on an entire family. An inside look at carnival life and Michael's growing love for another carny named Kirstie add gritty texture and a layer of emotional richness to the already intriguing plot.—Booklist
Publishers Weekly
Michael Daye has been living under an assumed name and traveling with a carnival for the past year, but he returns with the carnival to Miami just as his mother is about to stand trial for murdering her abusive older husband, supposedly right after Michael left. Sickened at media depictions of his mother as a scheming, ruthless golddigger, Michael decides to help her, but when he asks a lawyer to prepare him to testify, he slowly reveals pieces of a chilling secret. Flinn (Breaking Point) creates a compelling premise and format, alternating between the past year and the present. Michael remembers how Walker, his rich stepfather, beat and controlled his mother (Michael is so afraid to leave her that he quits the football team, even though he's about to start as quarterback). When he meets Kirstie, a carnival worker who shares a troubled past, they form a fast bond; she encourages him to join her world ("We don't talk about our pasts here"). But when he does, Kirstie's gone, and he learns he "can't escape who I was, or what I still am." Although the contrivances wear thin-both Walker and Michael's mother are too one-dimensional to seem believable, and fans of the genre will easily guess Michael's big secret-the juicy story and edgy narration will likely hook readers. Ages 14-up. (Apr.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.Children's Literature
Michale Daye's step-father was physically and verbally abusive. Michael Daye's step-father was killed. Michael's mother, Lisa Monroe, is on trial for the murder of her rich husband. Since his step-father's death, Michael fled for work at the carnival that was in town. When the carnival visits Miami again, Michael has this overwhelming urge to see his mother and to tell what he knows. Could what Michael knows change his mother's fate? The story is told in the present and past tense, alternating by chapters. The protagonist is heartfelt and compelling, and the reader cannot help but feel for Michael's mother due to her history of violence. A year after the murder, Michael is 17 years old. He is learning about the law, about reality, about running, and about his first love. The twists and turns in this story make for an excellent read. 2005, Harper Tempest/HarperCollins, Ages 15 up.—Kelly Grebinoski
KLIATT
To quote the review of the hardcover in KLIATT, March 2004: A year ago, Michael ran away from his Florida home to become a carny, running the Whack-a-Mole game and trying to leave behind the memory of his stepfather lying dead on the floor and his mother covered in blood. The memory of beautiful Kristie, a fellow carny, also haunts him, as the narration shifts back and forth between events in the present and those of the previous year. Now the carnival is back in Miami, and his mother is about to go on trial for murdering her husband. With the help of a sympathetic female attorney, 17-year-old Michael realizes that he must come forward at last to tell what he knows, in order to save his mother. He must also try to forgive her for putting up with all the physical abuse his stepfather dished out, and forgive himself for not protecting her better. Flinn, a former attorney herself who worked with families affected by domestic violence and author of the YA novels Breathing Underwater and Breaking Point, offers here yet another powerful story about anger, violence and their consequences. The details of carny life will draw readers, and the plot is suspenseful. Like Chris Crutcher, another YA author who writes from a deep knowledge of disturbed youth (based in his case on his experience as a teacher, family therapist, and child protection specialist), Flinn doesn't hesitate to tackle disturbing topics and succeeds in making the experiences and emotions of her protagonists realistic and gripping. (An ALA Best Book for YAs.) KLIATT Codes: S*—Exceptional book, recommended for senior high school students. 2004, HarperTempest, 277p., Ages 15 to 18.—Paula Rohrlick
VOYA
One year ago, seventeen-year-old Michael Daye fled the scene of a brutal murder in which Michael's stepfather was bludgeoned to death. He forged a new identity in the insular world of a traveling carnival, becoming "Robert Frost," overseer of the Whack-a-Mole booth. Now he is back in Miami, still living as a carnie, and his mother is on trial for the murder. Michael cannot stop the flow of memories, which he shares with the reader through alternating chapters that relate the events leading up to Michael's departure. His stepfather had been cruelly abusive to Michael's mother. The relentless abuse forms the basis of her defense for the murder. Michael himself had grown increasingly protective of his mother, even as he experienced ever-increasing frustration over her acquiescence to the brutality. Flinn does an excellent job of extracting the complicated feelings of love and anger that Michael feels as he becomes a helpless witness to his mother's suffering. As she did in Breathing Underwater (HarperCollins, 2001/VOYA June 2001), Flinn allows likeable characters to demonstrate ugly emotions. Michael found himself hating his mother for placing them in a situation that obliged Michael to mount a continued vigilance for her safety, prompting him to quit the football team and alienate himself from his friends. Now when he falls in love with a beautiful girl working with the carnival, he begins to realize that his mother might not have been willing to escape her tormentor but that he can make his own choices. Easy, natural dialogue and a suspenseful plot make this book appealing to all levels of readers. VOYA Codes 4Q 4P J S (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Broad general YAappeal; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2004, HarperCollins, 288p., and PLB Ages 12 to 18.—Diane Emge
School Library Journal
Gr 9 Up-Michael Daye, aka Robert Frost, is on the run, and he knows he never should have returned to Miami, but in order to keep his job with the carnival, he has to go where it takes him. He hopes that he won't be recognized as the son of Lisa Monroe, who is on trial for the murder of her millionaire husband, Michael's tyrannical, abusive stepfather. Through alternating present/last-year chapters, readers follow the teen as he tries to live in the moment and avoid the cops who want to question him, while remembering his life just before he ran away from home. Unfortunately, he had been unable to convince his mother to leave the marriage, so she took the only other way out- or did she? Flinn has created a believable, conflicted, and often angry protagonist. This is a compelling story about abusive relationships and the trauma they cause, as well as the legal implications of "self-defense" within them. Readers will be drawn to Michael in his despair and his fervent desire to protect his mother. Unfortunately, all too many young adults will know firsthand how accurate the portrayals are. This is a heartrending, unforgettable book.-Lynn Evarts, Sauk Prairie High School, Prairie du Sac, WI Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.Kirkus Reviews
The helplessness and anger of a teenager who knows that his father is beating his mother infuse this arresting tale set in contemporary Miami. Seventeen-year-old Michael Daye tells his story in narratives that alternate between a year earlier, when his stepfather, a wealthy lawyer, is escalating his violence, and the present, when Michael's mother is about to be tried using a battered-spouse defense for killing the stepfather. In the past year, Michael has been traveling with a carnival, where he feels less of an outsider than he did in high school. Both narratives, taut with tension, culminate in a foreshadowed but nevertheless powerful climax. The complex, well-drawn characters of Michael and his mother convey the psychological effects of abuse with insight and compassion. Secondary characters also emerge as nuanced, most struggling with serious problems of their own. As she did in Breathing Underwater (2001), Flinn does a masterful job of exploring domestic violence, conveying that it's prevalent among all economic classes and destructive wherever it takes hold. (Fiction. YA)Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“An absorbing read. Readers will appreciate seeing a tough topic taken beyond melodrama.”Book Details
Published
April 1, 2005
Publisher
HarperCollins Publishers
Pages
304
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9780060517526