Description
" The Car Thief is a solid example of why we must continue to reform our youth justice system to stop the incarceration of children and instead connect them with the supports they need. An important read, weaving information about our justice system with a narrative that's hard to put down." - Naomi Smoot Evans, Executive Director, Coalition for Juvenile Justice, Washington. D.C."Vicki Reed paints a vivid picture of how our correctional system often fails to support children. She also reveals the strength that can emerge when adults within the system step-up to guide youth through hard times and trauma. Reed's ability to capture the absurdities of our justice system through the eyes of a teen will make you laugh, cry, and advocate for reforms. I highly recommend this book for adults and young adults alike". - Mary Mistrett, CEO, Campaign for Youth Justice, Washington. D.C."I love this book! It's both a well-told story and an explanatory primer on what happens to children who land in the justice system after acting in developmentally normal-albeit illegal-ways to difficult situations that arose through no fault of their own." - Donna Sheen , Director, Wyoming Children's Law Center"A powerful, poignant, and deeply moving story, illuminating how easily well-meaning systems created to support our youth can end up victimizing them, unaware it's happening. This wake-up call reminds youth workers to recognize kids are kids and need adults to guide and support them, even when they make poor choices."- Rick Miller , Founder of Kids at Hope and author of The Soul, Science, and Culture of Hope "Data is critical but exists in a cold fluorescent light that yearns for a human voice to give it context. Vicki Reed does that in The Car Thief, placing the reader in the shoes of a young teen trapped in the criminal justice system. Writing in first person, he describes everything from his tiny windowless cell to his gnawing loneliness. This book will grab you and hold you till it's satisfying ending."- Richard Ross, author of Juvenile-In-Justice
Features & Highlights
- Meet Kelly Morgan. He has one foot in child welfare. One foot in juvenile justice. Both feet in trouble. Meet Sam Murry. He lives a quiet, orderly existence, alone—just how he likes it. But when a judge sends a skinny, young kid to be in his charge, that life gets turned inside out, leaving his heart uncomfortably and irretrievably exposed. What happens when not just a decent kid, but an extraordinary one falls into the clutches of the juvenile justice system? Debut novelist, Vicki Reed, relies on decades spent working in the field to craft this inspiring story of loss and redemption. A powerful novel that shows how the transformative power of friendship, kindness, and love can heal the deepest wounds. "Vicki Reed paints a vivid picture of the way our correctional system often fails to support children while valuing control over the cost of rehabilitation. She also reveals the strengths that can emerge when adults within the system step up to guide youth through hard times and trauma. Reed’s ability to capture the absurdities of our criminal justice system through the eyes of a teen will make you laugh, cry, and advocate for reforms." — Marcy Mistrett, CEO, Campaign for Youth Justice (Washington D.C.)
