I didn't hate this book, by any means, but I also didn't love it. The story line is different and intriguing, and the characters are likable enough. Alex's story is a unique one and therefore intriguing. Furnace Penitentiary is a beyond awful place and I can't imagine being Alex. I liked this book because I wanted to find out what Alex would do- would he try to escape? how? and would he get caught?- and, I also wanted to find out more about this prison for children and just how the people running it could possibly be getting away with all the awful things they are doing to these poor boys, some of which, like Alex, are innocent and have only been framed by the "black suits." But, there are a couple of elements in this book, that for me, knock stars off my rating quite quickly. First of all, the foul language. I find it completely unnecessary and utterly annoying as a reader to read/"listen to" teenagers taking the Lord's name in vain so frequently. Now, most of the time I can read past foul language and not let it bother me too much, but in a young adult read it is especially irritating for me. This book is a near perfect read for teenage boys, except for the fact that I would never let my teenager read this book because of all the foul language. The second aspect of this book that lowers my rating comes with the repetition of thoughts and phrases by the main character, Alex. I understand some repetition is necessary and even good for the overall feel of the book, but Alex repeats himself much too often for my liking and throughout certain parts of this book I felt like I was just reading the same thing over and over. (I just started reading the second book in the series, Solitary, and this repetition is especially annoying at the beginning of it...) I'm not sure if I will make it all the way through this series. I have a problem with not finishing series that I start reading, but I also have so many books on my "to read" list that this series might get the boot. We shall see.
So, although this book was recommended to me, I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to you.
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