Grace Lowery is a typical Midwestern American teenager: pretty, smart, a good student from what is, to all appearances, an average, middle-class, single-parent home. There's just one difference: A series of bad decisions involving her wealthy, charming-but-irresponsible boyfriend has landed her in the state juvenile correction facility for girls.

Thus begins About Grace, a unique coming-of-age story in which a young woman deals with the consequences of her actions-and sees how those consequences are different for people living more and less privileged lives. Grace is forced to reckon with the harsh reality of the juvenile carceral system, the people she meets there, and her complicated feelings for the boy whose influence led her to this place. More important-and challenging-Grace begins to remember and unpack a history of childhood abuse at the hands of a trusted adult. It's a journey to self-awareness under harsh and unanticipated conditions, shocking revelations-and surprising friendships.

About Grace is a rare young adult novel that handles difficult and sometimes shocking subject matter with compassion, insight, and a touch of humor.