House Arrest

House Arrest is a realistic fiction novel by author K.A. Holt.  What makes this book very unique is that is a novel written in verse, so the structure of the writing on the pages is different from other novels.  The novel spans the course of a year: broken down into chapters by each week of the year.  While the novel is 296 pages, it does move extremely fast since the pages are not filled with paragraphs, but short lines of text.  House Arrest is a record of Timothy's court-mandated journal, telling the story of his year on probation while he is under a strict house arrest under the care of his mother.  Go ahead and have the sequel on-hand, Knock Out.  You are going to want to pick it up as soon as you turn the last page of House Arrest - trust me.  

Timothy is now considered a criminal at the age of 13.  His has been sentenced to house arrest, under the care of his mother (and sometimes neighbor when his mother has to work long hours).  He has to check in with his probation officer once a week.  He must see a therapist once a week.  He must write daily in a journal. For. A. Year.  All because he made one bad choice.  But that bad choice was not in an effort to get rich quick or hurt someone else.  It was a quick decision he made in the heat of a moment and now his year has changed. It shouldn't be too different than any other year because Timothy's life has always been a challenge. His baby brother, Levi, is very sick.  He isn't like other babies and requires constant care around the clock. Not wanting to deal with this, Timothy and Levi's dad has left town unexpectedly, leaving the boys and their mother without help and without answers.  His mother works long hours to try to pay the bills - normal bills and the extensive medical bills. It is a lot for any family to manage without a teenager under house arrest.  House Arrest is the story of Timothy's year following "That Day" and the decision that changed their live forever.  

House Arrest is one of those novels that I think every kid should have to read at some point (like Wonder).  It will be loved by boys and girls of all ages. I think this novel is best suited for 6th and 7th graders, but think 5th graders will enjoy it as well.  Language and content are appropriate for these age levels as well.  House Arrest is a story of loyalty and compassion and redemption.  I will confess: this is my first novel to make it through written in verse. I usually really struggle with novels written in verse because I get too distracted by the format and cannot understand why the author randomly decided to end the line of text at that point. (Much like I am still distracted why the "O"on the front cover is yellow while the other letters are white.) However, it completely fits this novel! I cannot imagine this book being as good if it were written with paragraphs! Written in verse, it is easy to read Timothy's emotion in each line and sounds just like a teen would talk.  House Arrest is a must-read for early middle schoolers, but be sure you have the sequel close by!