Nothing to Lose - Hardcover

Flinn, Alex

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060517506 ISBN 13: 9780060517502

Publisher: HarperTeen, 2004

Synopsis

I shouldn't have come back to Miami. . . . I've been escaping cops' notice for a year now -- since I ran away. I'm no longer Michael Daye, high school athlete with a promising future. Now I look like someone with no future. I look like a carny.

A year ago Michael's life seemed pretty good, at least from the outside. But with a new stepfather in the picture, his world was actually violently out of control. When Michael grabs a chance to leave town with a traveling fair, he finds that their motto of “don't ask, don't tell” is a welcome refuge from the unbearable situation at home.

But now Michael is back in Miami, and his mother is on trial for murder. As the day of her trial draws closer, Michael wonders how much longer he can hide from his past . . . and his future.

About this title

About the Author

Alex Flinn loves fairy tales and is also the author of a modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast titled Beastly, which was named a VOYA Editor's Choice for 2007, a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age for 2008, and a 2008 ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers. Her other books include Breathing Underwater, an ALA Top 10 Best Book for Young Adults, Breaking Point, Nothing to Lose, Fade to Black, and Diva. She lives in Miami with her husband, two kids, a cat, and a dog.

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up--Michael Daye, aka Robert Frost, is on the run, and he knows he never should have returned to Miami, but in order to keep his job with the carnival, he has to go where it takes him. He hopes that he won't be recognized as the son of Lisa Monroe, who is on trial for the murder of her millionaire husband, Michael's tyrannical, abusive stepfather. Through alternating present/last-year chapters, readers follow the teen as he tries to live in the moment and avoid the cops who want to question him, while remembering his life just before he ran away from home. Unfortunately, he had been unable to convince his mother to leave the marriage, so she took the only other way out... or did she? Flinn has created a believable, conflicted, and often angry protagonist. This is a compelling story about abusive relationships and the trauma they cause, as well as the legal implications of "self-defense" within them. Readers will be drawn to Michael in his despair and his fervent desire to protect his mother. Unfortunately, all too many young adults will know firsthand how accurate the portrayals are. This is a heartrending, unforgettable book.--Lynn Evarts, Sauk Prairie High School, Prairie du Sac, WI
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About this edition

• Publisher: HarperTeen
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0060517506
• ISBN 13: 9780060517502
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288