Boot Camp

Synopsis From Goodreads:


In the middle of the night Garrett is taken from his home to Harmony Lake, a boot camp for troubled teens. Maybe some kids deserve to be sent there, but Garrett knows he doesn't. Subjected to brutal physical and psychological abuse, he tries to fight back, but the battle is futile. He won't be allowed to leave until he's admitted his "mistakes" and conformed to Harmony Lake's standards of behavior. And there's no way to fake it. Beaten, humiliated, and stripped of his pride, Garrett's spirit is slowly ebbing away. Then he hears whispers of an escape plot. It's incredibly risky -- if he's caught, the consequences will be unthinkable -- but it may be his only way out.
In this tense, riveting novel, award-winning young adult author Todd Strasser reveals what really goes on in highly secretive -- and notoriously dangerous -- boot camps, a stealth prison system where any teenager under the age of eighteen can be imprisoned at his parents' whim.


My Review:
The story starts with a handcuffed Garret being forced to shut up. He reaches the camp where he is ushered into a small windowless room. They make him stand up for hours. After a long time, they tell him to strip. He refuses and they warn him that for that his punishment for refusing is standing for 24 hours with no bathroom breaks. He strips and they throw him a new uniform and leave. This is so disgusting that they would make you strip in front of men. I would sue this camp for sexual harrasment. He goes to meet the camp directer Mr.Z. Garret was always smart, maybe a bit too smart. At eight, he skipped gym with the excuse of asthma and when his parents found out, they weren't pleased. Garret has been put into boot camp for having a girlfriend 6 years older than him, and because he did drugs. His girlfriend was his teacher and his parent's didn't like it. the sent him to boot camp where he is assaulted, and forced to run. He has to go TI where you lay on the ground while kids beat you up. But when a daring escape is formed , Garret must decide whether to risk it, or not. If he is caught, the consequences are terrible, but it's the only way out.
Rating:4/5