At a school for kids with disabilities, Andre gets off the bus and returns Miriam’s smile, thinking about how different this world is from the harsh Norwalk streets he grew up on. He thinks of all the things he knows how to do, like hot-wiring cars and evading police, and how at first, he made fun of the program that sends juvenile delinquents to help at schools for kids with disabilities. With time, he realized that these kids needed him and gave him a sense of purpose and pride. He defends them against people who mock them and brings them gifts to make them smile. He looks forward to spending time with them while dreading getting released back onto the street: “To his teachers’ and probation officer’s surprise, he has changed—precisely at the time the system was preparing to give up on him. After all, none of the usual stuff had worked” (161). However, working with Miriam, who has cerebral palsy, did. Andre greets Miriam, thinking about the pressure he will face from his friends once he goes back home, pressure that the adults in the juvenile-justice system don’t understand.

Although the juvenile court system has remained unchanged for thirty years, new waves of reform are sweeping through, with everyone competing to find a way to fix it.