The major overarching theme in this novel is the idea that we can create our own futures regardless of what has happened in our past. Although the novel opens with the act that gets Gecko sent to juvie, the story really begins much, much earlier: when a young Douglas Healy was released from his imprisonment and set about trying to pick his life up again. Despite the mistakes he had made, Healy was able to get an education and make a decent, respectable living. Now, he wants to give three young juvenile offenders a chance to do the same with their own lives.

Healy faces obstacles on all sides, from his difficulty in securing funding, to people like Mrs. Liebowitz and Ms. Vaughn who don’t believe in his cause, to the three boys themselves who have mixed feelings about their own potential. He never gives up on the idea that anyone can be saved.

Although it’s not specifically mentioned in the novel, this theme comes down to the idea of a “growth mindset” and a “fixed mindset.” Terence has a firmly fixed mindset and believes that he’s stuck on his path no matter what he does. The

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