When Cathy Flaherty's teenage son, Mark, is arrested for selling drugs, her neighbors once again show that Cedar Circle is more than a suburban cul-de-sac. It is a tightly knit circle of friends whose faith, love, and encouragement help each other make it through the changing seasons of life. More is at stake for Cathy than her son. With Mark in juvenile detention, the single mother of three finds herself struggling over whether to marry Steve Bennett,...

Eight juvenile delinquents are sent to clean an abandoned hotel where recluse psychopath Jacob Goodnight has made his home. Gory revenge ensues, as it was the kids' accompanying officer who put a bullet in Jacob's head four years back.

Gecko, Arjay, and Terence, all in trouble with the law, must find a way to keep their halfway house open in order to stay out of juvenile detention.

"Very little has been written about juvenile justice. In the greater consciousness, the word "justice" in this context has been leeched of meaning; it just signifies prison for kids. But to those living and working in various capacities within that system, the word "justice" holds a sepulchral gravity. In Children of the State, bestselling author of The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace Jeff Hobbs presents three different true stories that show...

When troubled sixteen-year-old Jimmer "JD" Dobbs returns from a mysterious summer "upstate" he finds that his mother has adopted an abused Rottweiler that JD names Johnny Rotten, but soon his tenuous relationship with the dog is threatened.

"Mick O'Brien is a young Chicago street thug torn between a life of petty crime and the love of his girlfriend. When the heist of a local drug dealer goes tragically wrong, Mick is sentenced to a brutal juvenile prison where violence is a rite of passage and respect is measured in vengeance. Can a bad boy on the edge of salvation find the heart to survive a manhood on the verge of murder?"--Container.

Young Timothy is sentenced to house arrest after impulsively stealing a wallet, and he is forced to keep a journal into which he pours all his thoughts, fears, and frustrations.

14-year-old thug Yusuke spends his days skipping school and causing trouble for the adults. Filled with self-loathing and the burden of an alcoholic mother, Yusuke sacrifices it all in a split-second decision-he tackles a small child out of the way of an oncoming car, losing his life in the process. Spirit guide Botan intervenes, allowing Yusuke to see how the people in his life react to his death; he is moved by the emotional ruin his loss causes...

Veteran firefighter and arson investigator Reed Solliday and his new partner, homicide detective Mia Mitchell, track an insidious killer with a penchant for utter destruction who uses fire as his weapon and who has set his sights on Mia.

Working at the local community center, Guillermo Lozano meets the one girl who is off limits, and as friendship--and something more--blossoms between them, he decides to break the rules and be a little bit reckless. Guillermo Lozano never met a rule he didn't break, but he's getting a fresh start: new town, new school, and no more reckless behavior. He's done his time, and is working at the local community center. throws him into the path of the...