House Arrest

I adored this freestyle young adult book. Timothy is on house arrest for a year. A whole year! All because he stole a wallet and used a credit card he found in it. And yes, stealing is bad. But is it so bad when you're stealing to help your baby brother? His brother is only a baby and already has a slew of problems; he has a trach in his neck and TONS of medical problems he needs a lot of help. Their dad walked out on them about a year ago so Timothy thought he was helping their mom out; their strapped for cash and the medical bills keep mounting. But now he's on house arrest and he has to keep a stupid journal to record his "feelings." Yeah he's feeling pretty annoyed. And angry. Angry at his stupid dad that left his mom to deal with his brother's medical problems. Angry that his stupid probation officer is always asking questions. Angry that his best friend complains about his dad who is clearly awesome. Timothy is angry at just about everything and everyone. Everyone except his cute lil' brother, Levi. Timothy would steal all the wallets in the world to keep Levi safe. Heart-wrenching and powerful. I couldn't put this book down.