Boot Camp

This intense young adult novel follows fifteen-year-old Garrett, who is abducted from his home and sent to Lake Harmony, a highly secretive boot camp. His parents believe he needs to be "reformed" due to his relationship with an older teacher and other rebellious behaviors. At the camp, Garrett endures severe physical and psychological abuse designed to break his spirit and force conformity. He attempts a daring escape with two friends, leading to a harrowing journey and a devastating return where he is ultimately "reformed" but broken. The book explores themes of parental control, institutional abuse, and the profound impact on a teenager's identity and mental well-being. It's a powerful, unsettling read that prompts important discussions about the "troubled teen" industry.

After ignoring several warnings to stop dating his teacher, Garrett is sent to Lake Harmony, a boot camp that uses unorthodox and brutal methods to train students to obey their parents. 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.