Juvie Three (Playaway Preloaded Digital Audiobook) Unabridged, January 1, 2008

Description: Ex-Library Edition. Gentle Used Condition. Includes original Clam Shell. Requires (1) AAA battery and headphones/earbuds (not included). 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 when Gecko finds romance. Or Arjay gets famous. Or Terence starts reverting to his old ways. If the boys are discovered, their second chance will be their last.From School Library Journal Grade 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 Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From Booklist *Starred Review* What are the odds a teenage gangbanger, a 15-year-old murderer, and a 14-year-old who crashed a stolen car can keep it together when the saintly social worker who has given them a second chance at redemption ends up comatose in the hospital? Terence, Arjay, and Gecko become unlikely co-conspirators at keeping Doug Healy’s absence hidden from teachers, their psychologist, and especially from their nasty case worker. Arjay and Gecko, determined not to do anything that will land them back in jail, become model students and strong-arm Terence into extremely reluctant compliance. It seems to be working until Doug awakens with amnesia, Terence annoys a gang leader, and a high-ranking cop tells Gecko to stop seeing the daughter of a wealthy businessman. Korman keeps lots of balls in the air as he handles each boy’s distinct voice and character—as well as the increasingly absurd situation—with humor and flashes of sadness. His use of present tense is occasionally jarring, but it effectively heightens the tension and the sense that these kids are living minute to minute, where one false step may haunt them forever. Readers will love the feel-good, almost too-good-to-be-true ending, so be prepared for high demand. Grades 7-10. --Chris Sherman About the Author Gordon Korman wrote his first book at age fourteen and since then has written more than eighty middle grade and teen novels. His favorites include the New York Times bestselling The 39 Clues: Cahills vs. Vespers, Book One: The Medusa Plot; Ungifted; Pop; and Schooled. Gordon lives with his family on Long Island, New York. He invites you to visit him online at GordonKorman.com.

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