I have wanted to read this book for ages and ages (like most books these days!) and I finally managed to get my hands on a copy from the local library. It has the most striking spine and a very beautiful cover too and with my penchant for judging books by their covers, I was hoping for a killer read!
At first, I thought this book was going to be a bit of a mystery but it turned into more of an in depth study of juvenile prisons and the sacrifices people make in life; which, whilst it wasn’t what I was expecting, was a really interesting and compelling read.
Sadie is a seventeen year old who seems to be pretty much perfect; good grades, plays on the school’s basketball team, looks set to go to college and has a boyfriend. Her sister Carla, on the other hand, is everything Sadie isn’t; a teenage mum, big drinker, heavy smoker, huge partier and drug user. When Sadie and Carla get caught up in a drug deal, Sadie decides to take the blame so Carla doesn’t have to leave her daughter, but when Sadie ends up in juvie, she begins to question her own morals and whether people should be held accountable for their own actions.
This book was told with alternating chapters in the present and past, with us being able to see what led up to the experiences Sadie was going through. I really liked this aspect as it gave us the chance to see two very different sides to her. In the past she is quite naïve but as she grows over the novel, we see her transform into an altogether more rounded and mature girl.
I felt a huge sense of disappointment and anger towards Carla in the book – she refused to take responsibility for herself and acted incredibly selfishly throughout which really irked me! I wanted to give her a big slap and make her realise what an amazing sister she had in Sadie.
Sadie was the kind of character you just wanted to pull out of the pages and hug tightly and reassure her that everything was going to be alright. I have to say that the ending was really quite refreshing because it didn’t make EVERYTHING alright. I’m so used to book endings tying everything up nicely but this one didn’t – it still left some questions and actually could lend itself quite nicely to a sequel.
Juvie gave a realistic and untainted view of what life is like inside a juvenile prison. It didn’t try and cover up the nastiness and the rivalry and the onerous checks one has to go through before even being allowed into a cell and I really enjoyed this aspect. Ok, maybe ‘enjoyed’ is the wrong word, but it gave me a glimpse into a way of life I know nothing about.
I would recommend this book if you are looking for a compelling and quick read. This isn’t a book full of twists and turns and exciting revelations, it is more a book about one girls journey from everything to nothing and how family is one of the most important things in the world.