Juvie by Steve Watkins - OPTIONAL

Watkins, Steve Juvie, 311 pgs. Candlewick Press, 2013. Language – PG-13 (95 swears, 2 “f), Sexual Content – PG-13; Violence – PG-13; 

Sadie may have been born after Carla, but Sadie is the older-acting sister. Once again, Sadie is cleaning up Carla’s mess, but this is the last cover up. If Carla still can’t see how irresponsible and horrible her choices are, Carla’s going to have to learn the hard way because Sadie can’t help when she’s locked up in Juvie in Carla’s place. 

Juvie is a book about finding yourself, change, and forgiveness. Sadie is thrown into a new environment and has a lot of time to think, but somehow the internal conflict still felt rushed, like she changed her decisions without enough contemplation in between. Also, the end didn’t feel like an end. I didn’t feel closure at the end partly because of the sudden change of heart, but also because Sadie is still in Juvie at the end. 

HS – OPTIONAL. Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen