Getting Somewhere [Hardcover]

Beth Neff (Author)

Book Description

Release date: January 19, 2012

Four girls: dealer, junkie, recluse, thief

Sarah, Jenna, Lauren, and Cassie may look like ordinary girls, but they're not. They're delinquents whose lives collide when they're sent to an experimental juvenile detention program on a farm in the middle of nowhere. As the girls face up to the crimes they committed, three of them will heal the wounds of their pasts and discover strengths they never dreamed they had. And one, driven by a deep secret of her own, will seek to destroy everything they've all worked so hard for.

An Excerpt from Getting Somewhere: She thinks of herself as the surviving type. Able to make things work out the way she wants them to. Okay, so, yeah. This is a little glitch in her plans. But she's not going to stay. Absolutely no way. She'll just tell them she's not happy, that it isn't working out for her. The room where they put her is ridiculous. Tiny. No television, no phone. Geez, they even had those at detention. Well, not in the rooms, but still. Hell, if she has to, she'll just walk out. Nothing to stop her.

It will be fine. It always is.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Beth Neff is a former farmer, journalist, and sustainability activist. She and her youngest son now live in Constantine, Michigan, where she writes full time.

Product Details

• Age Range: 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: Viking Juvenile (January 19, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670012556
• ISBN-13: 978-0670012558
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.9 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,524,034 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning book! August 12, 2012

By icomputered

Format:Hardcover

This book was a fantastic read. It's all about four troubled teen girls who go on a farm and learn a variety of life lessons. Some of the issues reviewed include addiction, abuse, and homophobia. Although touching upon various dark issues, it does not get to the point where it is inappropriate for YA readers. My favorite thing about this book is that unlike most novels oriented towards teen girls, this book teaches that meaning in life and self worth do not come from finding a boyfriend. I would recommend this book to girls/ young women between the ages of 15 and 20. I really enjoyed reading it!

4.0 out of 5 stars insightful look at the psyche of battered teens January 19, 2012

By Harriet Klausner #1 HALL OF FAME

Format:Hardcover

The four juvenile offenders (Sarah, Jenna, Lauren, and Cassie) were given a choice between detention in a prison or working on a farm to learn responsibility and accountability for themselves and others. Each joined the experimental program at an organic farm with no electronic devices allowed run by Grace and assisted by Ellie and Donna.

As the teens work on the farm and attend group and individual therapy sessions, each tells a similar tale of horror of neglect and abuse; none had a childhood beyond survival. Sarah, Jenna, and Cassie begin to heal by letting go of their anger as they become friends. However, Lauren's rage remains stratospheric and her need to destroy others like others destroyed her remains intense. She schemes to insure the experiment fails and her farmer overseers punished just like she has been.

The magnificent seven make for an insightful look at the psyche of the battered angry teens and the motivations of the adults. Rotating perspective, readers see the inner essence of each of the seven especially the negativity that their respective pasts haunting them; the child is the teen and adult. Although the climax seems melodramatically forced and obvious relatively early on, readers will appreciate this profound look at the souls of the battered who work hard at surviving.

Harriet Klausner