This is a socially focused YA novel about a young person navigating foster and group-home life, exclusion and threatened displacement, with suspense from arson and a developing romance.
More about this book
*The guy looked at me with a stare that would have frozen antifreeze. "You the new groupie, huh?"
"Yeah," I said. "So?"
"So no one wants you here. Why don't you go back where you came from?"
I can't go back, I wanted to say. That was the thing about living in a group home. There was nowhere for me to go but forward.*
Brent Hartinger's second novel, a portrait of a subculture of teenagers that many people would like to forget, is as powerful and provocative as his first book, Geography Club.
Lucy has experienced repeated foster and group-home placements and faces hostility from pupils who see group-home residents as outsiders.Exploratory / explanatoryExploratory / explanatory: the book explains or explores the subject without an established evaluative position.Exploratory / explanatory: the book explains or explores the subject without an established evaluative position.
How the book presents it: The story foregrounds a perspective often overlooked and shows Lucy trying to find care and belonging, while also presenting conflict around the home.
Talk about: Does the book give Lucy and other residents room to be complex people rather than only symbols of hardship?
Community responsibility and institutional vulnerability
The group home’s funding is threatened and neighbourhood opposition puts its future at risk; Lucy may risk her final chance to help save it.Provisional readingProvisional: the reviewed evidence does not establish how the book treats this theme. The evidence gap is listed under Confidence & Basis.Provisional: the reviewed evidence does not establish how the book treats this theme. The evidence gap is listed under Confidence & Basis.
Talk about: If the home closes, who bears responsibility for the residents, and does the story offer a convincing answer?
Romance and suspense within social drama
Lucy’s story includes a relationship with a wealthy local-school pupil and a mystery concerning neighbourhood arsons.AmbiguousAmbiguous: the book leaves its position open to more than one reasonable reading.Ambiguous: the book leaves its position open to more than one reasonable reading.
How the book presents it: These elements add personal and plot tension, but the extracts give conflicting or limited signals about how convincingly the romance and ending work.
Talk about: Does the romance deepen Lucy’s choices, and does the arson mystery remain connected to the book’s social concerns?
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Why It May Be Worth Reading
It may prompt thoughtful discussion about how young people in care are treated, what belonging requires, and how institutions or communities can either support or exclude vulnerable residents.
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What Deserves Attention
Consider whether the reader would welcome emotionally difficult material involving repeated placement changes, rejection by peers, possible closure of a home, an arson mystery, romance and graphic profanity.
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A Conversation Worth Having
How does Lucy respond when people assume that group-home residents do not belong, and what does the story suggest about who gets to decide whether a home remains open?
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Reading Approach
Read alongside a calm conversation about language used for young people in care. Pause after major setbacks if needed, and discuss whether the romance and ending feel convincing without revealing the mystery beforehand.
Confidence & Basis
Theme indicators describe how the book presents a topic; they are not a verdict on the whole book or your family's values. Confidence reflects how much book-specific material was checked. Only part of the book information was available, so some details remain unconfirmed.
What remains unconfirmed
Young people in care and belonging: The extracts do not show the full range of residents’ experiences or the eventual resolution.
Community responsibility and institutional vulnerability: The extracts do not establish the policy, funding or community arguments in detail, nor the final outcome.
Romance and suspense within social drama: The extracts reveal neither the arsonist nor enough of the relationship’s development to judge its full treatment.
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