Intense, thought provoking, impactful story that I could not put down…totally engrossing from beginning to end!
What I liked:
* Joey: athlete, high school senior, intelligent, typical in many ways of young men his age, has a brilliant future ahead of him…until his world abruptly changes.
* Mallory: young girl in high school, difficult family situation, friend of Joey’s, likable, facing a difficult situation
* That Joey’s family seemed a cohesive loving supportive unit…though they were also human
* Lua: a good friend of Joey’s who stood with him through thick and thin
* The writing, era, setting, plot and character development
* That it made me think and feel while seeming all too believable
* The growth and changes in both Joey and Mallory
* That it wasn’t polished and pretty but rather nitty gritty and at times dark…but not too dark
* Thinking about whether or not there is really justice when people go to court
* That not everybody who was bad was entirely evil just as not everyone good was perfect
* Joey’s lists, his personal rules, and his solutions to situations toward the end of the book
* That there was hope at the end of the story…and thinking about what might happen to the characters after that last page of the book.
What I didn’t like:
* Exactly who and what I was meant not to like
* Knowing that justice is not always meted out fairly and it may happen more often than we realize
Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more by this author? Definitely
Thank you to NetGalley and BQB for the ARC – this is my honest review.
The day All-American Joey Blade turns 18, he learns his ex-girlfriend is pregnant, is betrayed by his new girlfriend, and is arrested for the attempted murder of two police officers. Then things get bad.
The high school bonfire is supposed to be the kickoff to a great night: Joey has just won a football scholarship and he's hoping for a sex breakthrough with his new girlfriend. Then his true love--but ex-girlfriend--Mallory tells his she's pregnant. He's reeling from that news when the bonfire explodes.
Joey, his new girlfriend and her drug dealer friend TJ, flee in her truck. When the police pursue, TJ shoots at the cop's car. It crashes and in the ensuing chaos TJ slips away undetected. Joey, the only adult in the truck, is hauled off to jail.
Joey is charged with attempted murder and released on bail. TJ is nowhere to be found. When Joey discovers that Mallory's father is pressuring her to terminate the pregnancy, Joey has to remain free to prevent that from happening. In desperation, he reaches out to notorious gang leader, Chico Torres, whom he met in jail, for help locating TJ.
When Joey is offered a deal--his freedom in exchange for his cooperation in nailing Chico--he faces a decision that will change the course of his life and Mallory's.
