Overview
Gecko, Terence, and Ajay are serving time in juvenile detention centers until they get a second chance. Douglas Healy, a former juvenile delinquent himself, takes them into his halfway house, hoping to make a difference in their lives. One night there is a scuffle, and Healy is accidentally knocked unconscious. When he awakes in the hospital, he has no memory of them or of the halfway house. Afraid of being sent back to Juvie, the guys hatch a crazy scheme to continue on as if the group leader never left.
But if the boys are found out, their second chance will be their last.
Synopsis
Gecko Fosse drove the getaway car.
Terence Florian ran with the worst gang in Chicago.
Arjay Moran killed someone.
All three boys are serving time in juvenile detention centers until they get a second chance at life in the form of Douglas Healy. A former juvenile delinquent himself, Healy is running an experimental halfway house in New York City where he wants to make a difference in the lives of kids like Gecko, Terence, and Arjay.
Things are going well, until one night Healy is accidentally knocked unconscious while trying to break up a scuffle among the boys. Terrified of the consequences, they drop him off at a hospital and run away. But when Healy awakes, he has no memory of them or the halfway house. Afraid of being sent back to Juvie, the guys hatch a crazy scheme to continue on as if the group leader never left. They will go to school, do their community service, attend therapy, and act like model citizens until Healy's memory returns and he can resume his place with them.
But life keeps getting in the way...like Gecko finding romance. Or Arjay getting famous. Or Terence reverting to his old ways. And the woman from social services is determined to catch them at something. If the boys are discovered, their second chance will be their last.
KLIATT
Gecko drove, and crashed, a getaway car for his thieving brother; Terence picked up his B & E skills running with a gang in Chicago; hulking Arjay killed a man with a single punch. All three teenagers are serving time in juvenile detention until they're selected by a man named Douglas Healy, a former juvie himself, to take part in an experimental halfway house in New York City. Terence chafes at the many rules and tries to sneak out one night, though the other boys try to stop him. When Healy comes out to the balcony to intervene, he falls to the pavement and wakes up in the hospital with amnesia. Desperate not to return to juvie, the boys conspire to pretend Healy is still overseeing them and strive mightily to follow all the rules, despite complications like Arjay's blossoming rock guitarist career and Terence's tendency to return to his criminal ways. Meanwhile, Gecko checks up on Healy in the hospital, posing as a volunteer, and falls hard for lovely Roxanne, a real hospital volunteer. When Healy's memory fails to return and he's transferred to Bronx County Psychiatric Hospital, the boys realize the jig is up, and they set out to break Healy out, with the help of Roxanne. It would make a good sitcom, wouldn't it? Korman, author of Born to Rock, Son of the Mob and other YA novels, has a sure hand with comedy, and he makes the most of his appealing if flawed characters and great setup. The danger of discovery, the tough-talking delinquents who aren't quite as hard as they first appear, the hateful authority figures who nevertheless come to their aid—there's lots to relish here. Reviewer: Paula Rohrlick
Editorials
KLIATT -
Gecko drove, and crashed, a getaway car for his thieving brother; Terence picked up his B & E skills running with a gang in Chicago; hulking Arjay killed a man with a single punch. All three teenagers are serving time in juvenile detention until they're selected by a man named Douglas Healy, a former juvie himself, to take part in an experimental halfway house in New York City. Terence chafes at the many rules and tries to sneak out one night, though the other boys try to stop him. When Healy comes out to the balcony to intervene, he falls to the pavement and wakes up in the hospital with amnesia. Desperate not to return to juvie, the boys conspire to pretend Healy is still overseeing them and strive mightily to follow all the rules, despite complications like Arjay's blossoming rock guitarist career and Terence's tendency to return to his criminal ways. Meanwhile, Gecko checks up on Healy in the hospital, posing as a volunteer, and falls hard for lovely Roxanne, a real hospital volunteer. When Healy's memory fails to return and he's transferred to Bronx County Psychiatric Hospital, the boys realize the jig is up, and they set out to break Healy out, with the help of Roxanne. It would make a good sitcom, wouldn't it? Korman, author of Born to Rock, Son of the Mob and other YA novels, has a sure hand with comedy, and he makes the most of his appealing if flawed characters and great setup. The danger of discovery, the tough-talking delinquents who aren't quite as hard as they first appear, the hateful authority figures who nevertheless come to their aid—there's lots to relish here. Reviewer: Paula RohrlickVOYA -
As Gecko (real name Graham) receives his initiation at the juvenile detention center-a pillowcase over his head and a beating by the other inmates-rescue arrives in the form of a call to the office where Douglas Healy awaits him. Healy has a grant that allows him to take three juvenile offenders to live with him in an apartment where they will work out their sentences in a tightly controlled, real-world setting. He has chosen Gecko; Arjay, a young African American convicted of murder; and Terence, a hoodlum wannabe. It is their last chance. If they blow it, they will do hard time. When Healy is injured and taken to the hospital in a coma, the boys decide they will carry on at the apartment as though he is still with them, knowing it is the best way to avoid going to prison. But Gecko falls in love, Arjay joins a rock band, and Terence moves toward becoming a gang member. Korman's description of how the boys got into trouble rings true; however, the resolution of their problems is a stretch. Gecko and his girlfriend break up to please her wealthy father. Arjay turns down a chance to record with a band. And when some very menacing gang members threaten Terence's life if he does not kill an old woman, he tells them he does not "have time for this." Middle readers will enjoy this book, but older teens will see through its attempt at realism. Reviewer: Marlah K.UnruhChildren's Literature -
Gecko, Arjay and Terence are three juvenile delinquents who are candidates for an experimental alternative living program in New York City. As their group leader, Mr. Healy, explains: "Here's how it works: you live with me and two other boys in an apartment. You go to school; you go into counseling; you do community service. To be blunt, you work your butt off and keep your nose clean." One of the boys was convicted of manslaughter, one was the driver of a get-away car, and one plans to see more of New York City than the inside of the grungy walk-up apartment that is now an installation of the United States Department of Juvenile Corrections. The night Terence makes his move and slips out of the apartment, things go terribly wrong. As a result, Mr. Healy is hospitalized. His memory is gone, and the boys don't dare let the authorities know that the man listed as John Doe is their mentor. Until Mr. Healy regains his memory and returns to the apartment, they are going to be obedient little robots and do everything they've been programmed to do. If they don't, they could receive a one-way ticket back to the juvenile justice system. This is a winning novel about three boys who just might make it. Reviewer: Anita Barnes LowenSchool Library Journal
Gr 6-9
Terence, Gecko, and Arjay made serious mistakes and wound up doing time in juvenile-detention facilities. Empathetic adult Douglas Healy, a former juvenile offender himself, has secured a grant to operate an experimental halfway house in New York City designed to provide second chances to boys deemed as deserving. The teens accept his offer to become his first reformees, willing to trade their bleak incarceration for a small taste of freedom, even though the bargain entails maintaining academic excellence, therapy, and community service. Though Gecko and Arjay enter into the deal in good faith, Terence seems bound for recidivism. Gecko and Arjay attempt to intercept him one night as he tries to use the fire escape as a means of reconnecting with his newfound, gang-related associates. A scuffle ensues and, when Healy intervenes, he falls to the ground, unconscious but still alive. The boys "borrow" a vehicle and drop him off at a local hospital where he awakens with retrograde amnesia. The teens then face the seemingly impossible task of keeping up appearances while also working behind the scenes at the hospital to ensure that Mr. Healy eventually regains his memory and returns to his post as their overseer. This novel is signature Korman; it is a celebration of good, youthful intentions and a wholesome and fun treatment of what might otherwise be prohibitively gritty issues. As such, it's a great choice as a middle school read-aloud.-Jeffrey Hastings, Highlander Way Middle School, Howell, MI