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Juvie had everything going for it. A fascinating setting (inside a juvenile detention facility),
a flawed but relatable protagonist, and did I mention it was written by one of my favorite
authors?
Too bad the book didn't exactly live up to my expectations.
OK, let's be clear: I'm not telling you not to read Juvie. In many ways, it's an I-couldn't-put-it-down
kind of book. Main character Sadie is basically a good kid who makes one terrible mistake:
She decides to take the fall for her destructive older sister after the two of them sort of
accidentally commit a crime.
Sadie ends up in juvie, while her sister gets off...and hopefully cleans up her act, so
she can take care of her daughter, Lulu.
Sadie's experience inside juvie is riveting. Truthfully, I'm a sucker for stories about
closed communities, so getting to see the inside of a juvenile detention facility—and
the mental anguish Sadie encounters while locked up—made for a terrific setting and
interesting psychology.
The problem? The problem with this book is Sadie, whose emotional journey doesn't work,
and who unfortunately fails to resonate as a character as a result. I think Juvie could
have been a great book if it had known what it (and its main character) were about. Sadly
for me, it did not.