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lannthacker's review against another edition
3.0
YA STRASSE - boot camps, violence, relationship between an adult and a minor.
15 year old Garrett was exceptionally smart and a reasonably good kid in a wealthy family, until he began dating his 24 year old math teacher. Then his parents decide their only recourse is to have him taken from his home and transported to a camp where he'll learn to obey, or be trapped for four years. But did his parents know about the barely edible food? The solitary confinement ? The condoned beatings? Was what he did really so wrong? For older teens.
15 year old Garrett was exceptionally smart and a reasonably good kid in a wealthy family, until he began dating his 24 year old math teacher. Then his parents decide their only recourse is to have him taken from his home and transported to a camp where he'll learn to obey, or be trapped for four years. But did his parents know about the barely edible food? The solitary confinement ? The condoned beatings? Was what he did really so wrong? For older teens.
oreo46387's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
stephaniereads9b0f8's review against another edition
5.0
Five stars for Mr. Strasser, who dares to expose an industry paid for by the lives of children. All parents should read this.
I didn't agree with the main character's relationship with an older woman, but the book makes up for it with the glimpse into the teen boot camp industry...
I didn't agree with the main character's relationship with an older woman, but the book makes up for it with the glimpse into the teen boot camp industry...
booksandlemonsquash's review against another edition
4.0
Great read, short but having the courage to stick with its convictions and be depressing and gruesome and still excellent
allie8973's review against another edition
This book fucked me up when I was like 12 and it still fucks me up at 28. Disturbing and manipulative and psychological torture. Ive had dreams about this kind of thing all my life. So I thought if I reread it as an adult it would be less scarier. It's not. The fact that the young girls were called sluts and whores just triggered a whole other kind of sexual harassment abuse. I have no words really. The ending too, not hopeful, not at all. He gets out but will deal with the trauma for the rest of his life.
leahegood's review against another edition
Oof. I don't have a rating for this one. After watching a few YouTube mini documentaries on reform schools in the United States, I went in search of a fictional take on them and found Boot Camp. This is not a story for the faint of heart.
Summary
Garret is 15 years old. With a brilliant mind, tall stature, and early maturation, he looks and acts older than he is. When he resists ending a relationship with an adult woman, his parents, fearing for their reputation, send him to a reform school. Garret soon finds out, it's more of a concentration camp than a school.
Thoughts
I wish the author had chosen a different trigger than an adult/minor relationship to get Garret dumped into the reform school. It felt like the reader was meant to sympathize with the relationship and ... no. Not okay.
Setting that aside, the fictional reform school in this story mimiced the reality from the YouTube documentaries in brutal relief.
Garrett himself is a compelling character. He courageously sticks up for himself and others and gives careful consideration to what he is and is not willing to sacrifice. He doesn't shy away from making hard calls.
Finally, this is NOT a story to go into if you're looking for a happy ending. Try [b:Dirt Road Home|7739953|Dirt Road Home (Alabama Moon, #2)|Watt Key|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1435791035l/7739953._SX50_.jpg|10546057] if you want that. I like to imagine that Garrett receives counseling, support from his friends, and love from his parents to help him process the trauma he experienced, but that isn't part of this book.
Content
Language: There was probably some, but it didn't stand out to me, so not as much as most stories in this category.
Romance: A large part of the reason Garrett was sent to reform school is because of his relationship with an adult woman. For most of the story, he clings to memories of the relationship as he endures horrors. None of his memories are described in detail.
Violence: Garret is subjected to frequent beatings, isolation, and insults. Other boys threaten, and eventual stab him, with shivs.
Religion: One of the girls at the reform school is there because she refuses to conform to her family's Mormon beliefs. Garrett is not religious.
Summary
Garret is 15 years old. With a brilliant mind, tall stature, and early maturation, he looks and acts older than he is. When he resists ending a relationship with an adult woman, his parents, fearing for their reputation, send him to a reform school. Garret soon finds out, it's more of a concentration camp than a school.
Thoughts
I wish the author had chosen a different trigger than an adult/minor relationship to get Garret dumped into the reform school. It felt like the reader was meant to sympathize with the relationship and ... no. Not okay.
Setting that aside, the fictional reform school in this story mimiced the reality from the YouTube documentaries in brutal relief.
Garrett himself is a compelling character. He courageously sticks up for himself and others and gives careful consideration to what he is and is not willing to sacrifice. He doesn't shy away from making hard calls.
Finally, this is NOT a story to go into if you're looking for a happy ending. Try [b:Dirt Road Home|7739953|Dirt Road Home (Alabama Moon, #2)|Watt Key|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1435791035l/7739953._SX50_.jpg|10546057] if you want that. I like to imagine that Garrett receives counseling, support from his friends, and love from his parents to help him process the trauma he experienced, but that isn't part of this book.
Content
Language: There was probably some, but it didn't stand out to me, so not as much as most stories in this category.
Romance: A large part of the reason Garrett was sent to reform school is because of his relationship with an adult woman. For most of the story, he clings to memories of the relationship as he endures horrors. None of his memories are described in detail.
Violence: Garret is subjected to frequent beatings, isolation, and insults. Other boys threaten, and eventual stab him, with shivs.
Religion: One of the girls at the reform school is there because she refuses to conform to her family's Mormon beliefs. Garrett is not religious.
robdabear's review against another edition
4.0
This was quite an interesting book. The main character, Garrett Durrell is sent away in the middle of the night to a teen detention camp somewhere in upstate New York. He was sent there by his parents against his will and without him knowing, so he could go and reform his problems. At the boot camp, Lake Harmony, he is beaten and abused, so much that I can garuntee the reader will want to hurt something while they read. It seems like Garrett is finally broken, when a risky escape plan is hatched.
This was quite a fast read, I was a little delayed over the weekend and school starting to finish it quickly enough though. The chapters were short and you never wanted to put the book down. It was very frustrating at times, but very excited as well.
Kind of a spoiler but not really: I hated the ending. Bad way to end a book. But I guess that was what was going to happen eventually anyway.
After the initial story ended there was an afterwards stating that teen detention camps like lake harmony exist, and immediately I was horrified by the fact that they operate generally in the same way as described in the book. You'll just have to read it to find out.
Good quick read, very angering and frustrating at times, but perhaps that was the point, to play at your emotions. 4 stars.
This was quite a fast read, I was a little delayed over the weekend and school starting to finish it quickly enough though. The chapters were short and you never wanted to put the book down. It was very frustrating at times, but very excited as well.
Kind of a spoiler but not really: I hated the ending. Bad way to end a book. But I guess that was what was going to happen eventually anyway.
After the initial story ended there was an afterwards stating that teen detention camps like lake harmony exist, and immediately I was horrified by the fact that they operate generally in the same way as described in the book. You'll just have to read it to find out.
Good quick read, very angering and frustrating at times, but perhaps that was the point, to play at your emotions. 4 stars.
marijacaran's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
taybtayb's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book!! Todd Strasser is one of my favorite writers.