There is a small mention of class differences, but all the boys come from different backgrounds, and I think almost every kid could relate to these characters.

Although the scenario is a little far fetched at times, I couldn't put this book down. Terrance eventually learns that having street cred isn't the same as having a solid network of people that care about you. Arjay made a mistake that lead to someone dying, and has thrown himself into creating music. Gecko slowly sees that he can't completely blame his brother for his choices, even if his family isn't there for him.

I thought the characters in this book were relatable Healy has a troubled past and sees himself in the kids he's trying to rescue. If they get caught? Give themselves up and admit everything. The boys decide that they have been selfish for long enough and have to stage a daring rescue of the man who rescued them from juvie. When Healy eventually wakes up, he has amnesia and is sent to the Bronx Psychiatric Hospital. The problems arise as Terrance's criminal streak surfaces, Gecko gets a girlfriend, Arjay joins a punk band, and Healy is still in a coma. They hope this will keep them from returning to juvie jail. Their plan is to do everything they are supposed to do, school, therapy, and community service, until Healy wakes up and comes home. The boys panic and drop him off at the emergency doors then speed off in a stolen car. In the scuffle Healy falls of the third floor fire escape, landing in the alley, unconscious and bleeding from the head.

The other boys are trying to grab him off the fire escape and push him back into the house when Healy is awakened. Things go sideways one night when Terrance tries to sneak out to meet up with a gang member he met in school. Gecko meets Terrance Florian and Arjay Moran, two other kids in the system who are offered the same deal: live in an experimental halfway house in New York with Healy as their guardian. Flash forward to Gecko getting beaten up in juvie Douglas Healy shows up with an offer to get him out of there. When he makes a snap decision to crash the car rather then hit an old lady crossing the street, the gang is arrested. The Juvie Three opens with Gecko driving a stolen car as a getaway driver for his older brother.

The juvie three by gordon korman