Boot Camp

Todd Strasser

Dec 2010 · Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

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 YA 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.

Ratings and reviews

I like this book alot, its interesting and makes me wonder/think about it alot, I showed many emotion in the first few chapters and I can tell its going to be a good book, this is one of my favs

I do not recommend this book to anyone who has been through abuse, unless they are looking for inspiration. I do recommend this book to everyone else. When I read this book, I could not put it down. It is the story of a boy who's parents "payed" for him to be "kidnapped" in the middle of the night and sent to a boot camp called Lake Harmony. The boot camp uses verbal and physical abuse to reform the kids. One of the punishments there is to go into a solitary wet, cold, and contaminated room and lie face down on the floor for a week. No food, water, nothing. Another of the punishments that staff hand out is simply called "a lesson". "A lesson" happens when a staff orders one of the stronger and uncompassionate boys to hurt you in whatever way possible as long as they do not break any bones or kill you. Read the book to find out how the boy will handle living at this boot camp.

I liked the book and it was keeping me on thr edge to see what was next... Felt bad for the kids (this was summer hw from school aswell)

About the author

Todd Strasser has written many critically acclaimed novels for adults, teenagers, and children, including the award-winning Can’t Get There from Here, Give a Boy a Gun, Boot Camp, If I Grow Up, Famous, and How I Created My Perfect Prom Date, which became the Fox feature film Drive Me Crazy. Todd lives in a suburb of New York and speaks frequently at schools. Visit him at ToddStrasser.com.