Content levels
Trigger warnings
Positive tags
Heroine archetypes
Protagonist archetypes
Synopsis
When a district attorney who is eager to make an example of a teenaged offender misinterprets an essay written by fifteen-year-old Annie Ireland, Annie, her best friend Roach Boy, and Primo, a magical being who is trapped in a doll's body, are sent first to jail then to a cross between a school and boot camp.
Is Hard Time appropriate for my child?
Suitable for most readers 10 and up.
This book explores themes of miscarriage of justice and incarceration through a fantastical lens with a 15-year-old protagonist wrongly sent to a boot camp-style facility. The magical element (Primo trapped in a doll) adds whimsy to serious institutional critique.
What to know going in
This book has mild violence, no sexual content, and mild language. Content notes include authority abuse, captivity, and injustice.
Who'll love this
A teenager and her best friend fight back against unfair adults with the help of a magical being stuck in a doll's body.