Find a Safe Place: A True-Life Drama of Adventure and Survival

by Alex Lazzarino, E. Kent Hayes

Despite the fuzzy underpinnings of this ""dramatization"" of the story of four chance reform-school boys (""actual case histories,"" supplemented by ""composites""), Lazzarino and Hayes offer an unusual closeup of the lives of children we throw in jail ""because they have no adults to care for them."" The scene is Clearwater [Nebraska] Boys' Industrial School, an institution designed for hard-core delinquents, where in 1963 there Matt, a 14-year-old Wyoming ranchhand's son, who got into minor trouble with the law after his father's death left him orphaned; John, a bright black teenager (""My mama left me, and the state figured I'd end up here sooner or later anyway, so they greased the skids and shipped me straight. It was all legal. . .""); Ralph, an obese 15-year-old mute who, for years, had been erroneously classified as profoundly retarded; and Tony, a streetwise black ten-year-old who had acted as mother's pimp. This unlikely group stuck together as their ""determination to survive and capacity to adapt to a system that. . . rendered them helpless"" pulled them through.

329 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1984

Reviews

[Tricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the true story (names changed) of three boys sent to juvenile detention. Two were sent there because there was nobody to take care of them rather than any crime committed. It details how they ended up in juvenile detention and what it was like inside.

The book was set in the 50s/60s so there is a epilogue letting you know how each boys story ends up post book. I really liked knowing what happened as I was emotionally invested in these boys by the end.

This was a surprising read for me. It is not a genre I normally read. It really bought home how the system can sometimes let people down. I would definitely recommend to others.

[Bev W · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read the condensed version which was good.