Have you ever been in trouble for something someone else started? Gordon Korman's The Juvie Jail brings together three young men who have one thing in common: they were all convicted for something that wasn't entirely their fault. That's not to say they are completely innocent. But social worker Douglas Healey believes they deserve a second chance. Healey creates a 'halfway house' in New York City and pulls Gecko, Terrance, and Arjay out of juvenile jail. They're all one step away from long-term lock-up when Healey is knocked unconscious trying to break up a fight among the boys. Fearing they'll head back to jail if caught, the boys drop Healey off at a hospital and run away. When Healey wakes up, he has absolutely no idea who he is-- and the boys realize they are completely on their own and must continue to go to school, do community service, even attend group counseling-- as if Healey were there. The hole they've dug for themselves keeps getting deeper, and they know as soon as someone discovers Healey is missing they'll go straight back to jail with additional consequences. Korman has another hit with this book, which is as enjoyable as Son of the Mob and Born to Rock. Like those, The Juvie Three offers a number of moral dilemnas: is it better to do the right thing if it means getting into really bad trouble? Is it better to lie and hurt yourself and your girlfriend knowing that it ultimately helps your two convict housemates not be discovered? I hope that this book becomes a Missouri Gateway nominee for 2010/2011. It's one of the better b ooks I've read in this cycle, and will undoubtedly be a popular title for high schoolers. I recommend it and will book talk it with my students! ( )

I didn't get past the first chapter because it couldn't hold my interest. I was excited at first, hoping it would be a story that would pull me in, but it was too common. AHS/MR

Reviewed by Sally Kruger aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com

What do you get when you mix three juvenile delinquents on their last chance before doing some long-term hard time, one do-gooder out to help them become better people, and Gordon Korman? THE JUVIE THREE! It is a fast-paced page-turner complete with humor, action scenes, romance, and some fascinating twists and turns.

Douglas Healy lived through his own hard times, and now he is determined to give some hope to a new crop of troubled teens. He has worked hard to cut through the red tape and bureaucratic nonsense to open a small halfway house (apartment) for three lost boys. Gecko, Terence, and Arjay have committed a variety of crimes, from driving a stolen getaway car to murder, and society seems to say their are beyond hope. The efforts of Douglas Healy have given the three a last chance.

Gecko seems grateful and determined to do the right thing. Arjay is confused and suspicious, yet strangely appreciative, that a stranger would take the time to reach out a helping hand. Terence looks at the situation as an opportunity to make a quick buck and escape ASAP.

When Terence breaks the rules one night and attempts to sneak out by way of the fire-escape, the other two boys step in to protect what they view as their last chance at a real life. The scuffle between the boys is interrupted by a sleepy and angry Douglas Healy, who has the unfortunate luck to plummet head-first from the fire-escape to the pavement below.

Fearful of the outcome if they are caught, the three boys load an unconscious, bleeding Healy in the back of a stolen car and rush him to the nearest emergency room, where they dump him and then hightail it back to the apartment. Until they can decide what to do next, they agree to keep up appearances and stick to their usual daily routine. What follows is an amazing tale of how three supposedly "no good" kids follow the rules and make the right decisions without adult supervision.

The plot twists and turns will keep even the most reluctant readers on the edge of their seats. Don't miss THE JUVIE THREE. ( )

Korman has written a clever book about three sort-of accidental juvenile delinquents that are selected to participate in a new half-way house. When a series of bad decisions lands them in a dilemma that could mean their return to prison, the boys join forces to keep the half-way house program going. ( )

Not quite a return to Korman's best work (A Semester in the Life of a Garbage Bag, Don't Care High), but much better than most of his recent books. These boys are rougher-edged than many of his teen heroes, but their hearts are in the right place. ( )