Do Not Pass Go
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- $5.99
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- $5.99
Publisher Description
Deet's world turns upside down when his father is arrested for drug use. It doesn't seem possible that kind, caring Dad could be a criminal! After all, he only took the pills to stay awake so he could work two jobs. Now what will happen? How will Deet be able to face his classmates? Where will they get money? And most importantly, will Dad be okay in prison?
Hurt, angry, and ashamed, Deet doesn't want to visit his father in jail. But when Mom goes back to work, Deet starts visiting Dad after school. It's frightening at first, but as he adjusts to the routine, Deet begins to see the prisoners as people with stories of their own, just like his dad. Deet soon realizes that prison isn't the terrifying place of movies and nightmares. In fact, Dad's imprisonment leads Deet to make a few surprising discoveries -- about his father, his friends, and himself.
With moving realism, Kirkpatrick Hill brings to light the tumultuous experience of having a parent in jail in this honest and stirring story of a young man forced to grow up quickly.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Readers influenced by Hollywood depictions of jailhouse violence and brutal inmates may broaden their view of penitentiary life after reading Hill's (Dancing at the Odinochka) quiet, insightful novel. Alaska native Deet is deeply shaken when his mother tells him that his overworked stepfather, Charley, who has been taking pills to keep himself awake, has been arrested for drug possession. Deet fears that when the news gets out, he and his two younger sisters will be teased at school. He is also concerned about what will happen to Charley: "Dad in there with horrible criminals, murderers. Gentle, cheerful Dad." Over time, however, Deet discovers that many of his worries are unwarranted. Instead of being taunted by acquaintances, he is consoled by classmates and neighbors, some of whom know what it's like to have a family member in jail. Deet also learns that the prison where his father serves time is not quite as dangerous and dismal as he had imagined. While visiting his father, Deet observes that other prisoners and their families are mostly ordinary people, "like anyone else you might see in the streets." Yet Hill does not sugarcoat the hardships that plague Deet's family financial problems, added responsibilities, uncertainties about the future. Deet emerges as a sensitive, courageous protagonist who is smart enough and open-minded enough to look past people's mistakes. Ages 9-14.
