The three juvies in the title are pulled together for a unique group home program pulled organized by Douglas Healy. In his own past, Healy had his own brushes with the law, and he is hoping to give some unfortunate teens who have made bad choices a chance to get their lives back on track. After a search for funding, a long fight with the juvenile justice system, and trolling through files, he has selected three young men who will just be perfect:

*Gecko, a Rhode Islander whose given name is Graham, has ended up in prison after a life of following his brother into misadventures and often taking on the role of driving the get-away car.
*Terence found trouble by trying to gain a family in the gangs of Chicago.
*Arjay, an African American, who was found guilty of murder when the quarterback ends up dead. At the time, the player and his friends were hazing him to try to convince him to join the team because of his size. Arjay was pushing off the QB in defense, causing the player to hit his head on a school statue.

The four boys will join Healy in a redesigned apartment, where they will spend most of their time. They will only be able to leave it to go to school and to complete their required community service. Everyone involved understands that if the program doesn't work, they will have to return to complete their original prison time.

Arjay and Gecko seem much more willing to try and toe the line, but Terence struggles with the requirements largely because of his past failed familial situation. Deep down, he knows this is a good option, but habit forces him to continue to rebel. This causes trouble for everyone involved on a number of levels.

During a verbal argument, Healy ends up falling and is seriously injured. The boys take him to the hospital, but find themselves fearful that the lack of supervision will cause the program to fold. As a result, they find themselves doing what they can to toe the line. They also find themselves exploring other aspects of their lives because of the unique situation: Arjay gets an opportunity to explore his interest in music, Gecko falls in love with a wealthy girl while volunteering at the hospital, and Terence finds himself falling a bit into his old gang habits.

Throughout, the boys are tested to prove their maturity and their ability to do the right thing. In some ways, there is a lot about this story that is a bit out of the realm of reality, particularly the high stakes escape the brings about the resolution of the book. Coincidences and deus ex machina play a convenient role, but I am not sure that younger people would be as put off about how far the author is stretching the reality of the juvenile justice system.

One thing I found refreshing is the book's ability to highlight the perspective of the three guys (as well as a few instances of jumping into Healy's mind). The kids are criminals, and they all know they made bad choices that landed themselves in prison. With that said, they are still kids and they are not all bad. This is a stance that is important for the juvenile justice system to hold dear, particularly if one hopes to rehabilitate young people rather than just punish them.

I enjoyed the characters, and I think this is a lite look at the reality of these kids. I think if we spent more time mentoring and helping these kids with these types of programs, we might see less recidivism from juveniles committing crimes.