Review: House Arrest

Timothy has gotten himself in hot water for trying to help his baby brother.  The law doesn’t look kindly on stealing a wallet and using a credit card from it even if it’s used to buy medicine for a sick child.  Since he’s only 12, Timothy is placed under house arrest and forced to meet with a probation officer and a counselor who makes him keep a journal.

I can’t say enough good things about House Arrest by K. A. Holt.  When Timothy’s brother, Levi, is born with health issues, his family falls apart.  His father leaves and his mother struggles to keep things together.  It’s not enough, though – she’s always tired and they never have enough money.  Timothy loves Levi and wants the best for him.  He hates it when people talk down to Levi or ignore him.  There’s not much a 12 year old can do to help so when someone leaves their wallet laying out, the temptation is too much for Timothy and he uses their credit card to pay for his brother’s medicine.  How can you not love a kid like that?

Written entirely in verse, House Arrest does a great job of exploring issues that are relevant to young people, like an absent father, a tired mother, sweet young love, and a family struggling with financial problems.  It’s not all despair, though – Timothy has a lot of love and comes up with a solution that just might help his family.  This book is full of heart and moved me to tears and made me chuckle.  I have a feeling it will be on my list of favorites for the year.  House Arrest is a fabulous Young Adult book but I recommend it to YA readers on up – you don’t want to miss this gem!

I will link this up to Booking Mama’s Saturday feature, Kid Konnection. If you’d like to participate in Kid Konnection and share a post about anything related to children’s books (picture, middle grade, or young adult) from the past week, leave a comment as well as a link on her site.

Review copy provided by Chronicle Books and Library Thing Early Reviewers.  I am an Indiebound Affiliate.