Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie Tolan

This book is about a kid named Jake Semple, who has been taught to swear his whole life, his parents growing marijuana in their basement, his parents now in jail, and has been kicked out of almost every public school in the state of Rhode Island. He goes to another middle school in North Carolina, but he gets kicked out of there, too. Now he has to stay with the Applewhites and go to thier homeschool, called the Creative Academy, that specializes in (what else) creativity and the arts (there is a poet, a dancer, a writer, two woodcarvers, and a play director in the Applewhite clan, and NO smoking. The plan is that delinquent boy will just go along for the ride, or will he? An unforgettalbe tale of huge heart.
Rating: 15
by Calvin Kocher