Do Not Pass Go

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.

Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Published: 01/23/2007
ISBN: 9781416914006
Pages: 240
Weight: 0.70lbs
Size: 8.38h x 5.78w x 0.91d
Award: Georgia Children's Book Award - Nominee
Award: Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award - Nominee
Award: Nevada Young Readers' Award - Nominee
Award: Sequoyah Book Awards - Nominee
Award: Sunshine State Young Reader's Award - Nominee
Award: Golden Sower Award - Nominee

Review Citations: Kirkus Review - Children 12/01/2006 pg. 1221
Publishers Weekly 01/15/2007 pg. 52
Booklist 12/15/2006 pg. 41
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 02/01/2007 pg. 254 - Recommended
School Library Journal 03/01/2007 pg. 210
Voice of Youth Advocates 04/01/2007 pg. 48 - Recommended - Better Than Most
Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/2007 pg. 369 - Below Average, With Minor Flaw

Accelerated Reader Quiz #/Name: 109807 / Do Not Pass Go
Reading Level: 5.4 / Interest Level: Middle Grade / Point Value: 6