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All it took was one night and one bad decision for fifteen-year-old Violetta Chen-Samuels’ life to go off the rails. After driving drunk and causing the accident that kills her little sister, Violetta is incarcerated. Under the juvenile justice system, her fate lies in the hands of those she’s wronged—her family. With their forgiveness, she could go home. But without it? Well . . .
Denied their forgiveness, Violetta is now left with two options, neither good—remain in juvenile detention for an uncertain sentence or participate in the Trials. The Trials are no easy feat, but if she succeeds, she could regain both her freedom and what she wants most of all: her family’s love. In her quest to prove her remorse, Violetta is forced to confront not only her family’s grief, but her own—and the question of whether their forgiveness is more important than forgiving herself.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
August 15, 2023 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9780593593370
- File size: 311764 KB
- Duration: 10:49:30
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Languages
- English
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Levels
- Lexile® Measure: 720
- Text Difficulty: 3
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Reviews
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June 26, 2023
Fifteen-year-old Violetta Chen-Samuels, who is half Black and half Chinese, has been in juvenile detention for 22 days, since her decision to drive home drunk from a party resulted in her seven-year-old sister Vivian’s death. Now, she’s awaiting her family’s judgment. If they forgive her, she can go home; if they don’t, she’ll be subject to an extended sentence or participation in the Trials, interactive experiences instituted 25 years ago meant to strengthen rehabilitation efforts and lower the possibility of repeat offenses. Via video, her queer 17-year-old brother Vince urges her to complete the Trials (“While as a family we don’t yet forgive you, we want to give you the opportunity to learn from this incident,” he says, as if reading from a script). As Violetta enters the Trials, Vince struggles with a drug dependency and blames himself for not being able to protect his sisters. Through Vince and Violetta’s resonant alternating perspectives, debut author Baker empathetically examines the harsh treatment of Black youth in the justice system, and its ripple-effect impact on the detainee’s family. Affecting depictions of Vince’s addiction and Violetta’s reform process contribute to the novel’s overarching interrogation of blame, guilt, and self-forgiveness. Ages 12–up. Agent: Jenni Ferrari-Adler, Union Literary. -
October 1, 2023
Gr 8 Up-Fifteen-year-old Violetta Chen-Samuels is 22 days into detention for killing her seven-year-old sister in a drunk-driving chase to see her boyfriend. Her family is about to bestow judgment: pardon, Trials, or imprisonment. Debut novelist Baker reimagines a juvenile incarceration system (that already unjustly criminalizes BIPOC youth) in which "victims of (alleged) crimes [decide] the fate of those who committed them." Letta gets Trials: "We need you to...repent." Back at home, brother Vince is cracking under the pressure of being the seemingly perfect, oldest child. Collier's slightly scratchy voice heightens desperate Letta in crisis, embodying the gamut of precarious emotions and bewildered reactions. Holmes, who is mixed-race Chinese and Black like his character, makes his aural debut as Vince, regretful for not protecting his sisters, aching for empathy from friends and family. VERDICT A dynamic duo amplifies an already powerful novel about responsibility, justice, and family.
Copyright 2023 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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