Something Like Hope

Author: Shawn Goodman
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Summary: Shavonne is a fierce and desperate seventeen year-old who finds herself in a large juvenile lockup hundreds of miles from home.  She wants to turn her life around before her eighteenth birthday, but her problems seem too big, and time is running out. Amidst corrupt guards, out-of-control girls, and shadows from her past, Shavonne must find the courage to fight for a redemption she’s not sure she deserves.

Review: So I got this book for free in a contest at Random Buzzers. Let me tell you, I would NOT have picked this one up otherwise. But really only because it's so short and the cover isn't very pretty or creative. Also, on covers I hate when it shows someone's full profile, because that's how I imagine the main character instead of how I wanted to imagine them. But I'm glad I did read it because it was really good. And it was not what I expected at all. I mean, I always knew that a juvenile detention center is at all fun, but I didn't know it was this bad. You always hear about how in prison there is rape and beatings and set ups, but you don't hear about it in juvy. The guards of her center were also not what I expected. I thought guards just stood around quietly and broke up a fight if needed. But some of the authority figures and guards in this book were just plain evil for no reason other than their lives weren't very good so they thought they needed to take it out on someone.
     This book was also really eye-opening to the lives of teenagers who grew up in homes where the parents were either absent or doing drugs and prostituting themselves and teenagers who grew up in the really poor areas of cities and just had to do what they had to do to get by. Compared to these other teenagers, I'm really fortunate and I'm so glad. The characters in this book had been through terrible things, and some didn't even really have a chance to be kids.
    I've never heard of the author before this, but I can kind of see why. Most of the writing was just average, and a book this thin and with an average cover like this that isn't about a popular topic like vampires or something can be easily overlooked and unnoticed. So I'm really glad that I came across this at Random Buzzers and had a chance to read it. I really think everyone would like this book and should, as it is very eye-opening and educational. It's also only like 150 pages or something, so it's not a big commitment to read this book; I finished it in like a day. So, if you see this book at your library, definitely check it out!