Adrianna chose the wrong friend and that landed her in Compass Juvenile Detention for 7 months. She needs to keep her head down and her nose clean so she can go home to a father that has distanced himself from her since her mother die and the step-mother, Lana, she really can't stand. But, no life is perfect, right? At least she gets to keep the journal she uses to write down all her thoughts and feelings that help keep her sane - until she loses it in the library. By sheer luck, or by the imaginative machinations of Jon on the boy's side of the detention center, she finds her journal to discover that Jon has written back to her. Now, they write back and forth, sharing everything they can, and through the journal pages, they will do anything to be able to meet. Jon, who made a mistake out of grief and anger, will be 18 and probably be going to an adult prison soon, so they have to find a way meet before her leaves. Plans and partnerships are set into motion, but there are always things, evil things and broken promises, that challenge the plan. The book focuses on the realities of being in a juvenile detention center, something Shusterman, Young, and Knowlden researched extensively and wanted to show the harsh truths of what goes on in those centers. Adrianna and Jon shine through the words they share together and how they maneuver through the friendships and partnerships they have made inside Compass. Give to fans of crime, drama, and Neal Shusterman books.

Adriana is just a girl who made some bad choices and bad friends and ends up paying for her mistakes in a juvenile detention center.
This book was pretty slow but very real.

This book is heartwrenching and sweet and action-packed and - on top of everything else- an incisive look at the juvenile justice system. I stayed up way too late to finish this book because I had to know what happened with Adriana and Jon. This is at times an epistolary novel, and at others a romance, and at others a mystery/thriller, and altogether, it's magical. I will be strongly recommending this to high school students, especially reluctant readers, or those interested in a closer look at the criminal justice system.

Excellent premise as always by Neal. Was a five star until the ending but it just didn’t give me what I was looking for.

As a huge fan of Neal Shusterman, I am quick to snatch up anything that pops up from him, and I certainly wasn't surprised how he, yet again, took something so heavy and managed to make it beautiful and educational. At first, I wasn't quite sure which direction this was going, but it gracefully tackled issues with racism and inequity in the educational and judicial system that readers of any age could take lessons from. I couldn't put this one down, and I know I won't be the only one. Thanks so much for this ARC!