Cover of Do Not Pass Go

Do Not Pass Go

Deet's world turns upside down when his father is arrested for drug use. It doesn't seem possible that kind, caring Dad could be a criminal! After all, he only took the pills to stay awake so he could work two jobs. Now what will happen? How will Deet be able to face his classmates? Where will they get money? And most importantly, will Dad be okay in prison?

Read more

Hurt, angry, and ashamed, Deet doesn't want to visit his father in jail. But when Mom goes back to work, Deet starts visiting Dad after school. It's frightening at first, but as he adjusts to the routine, Deet begins to see the prisoners as people with stories of their own, just like his dad. Deet soon realizes that prison isn't the terrifying place of movies and nightmares. In fact, Dad's imprisonment leads Deet to make a few surprising discoveries — about his father, his friends, and himself.

With moving realism, Kirkpatrick Hill brings to light the tumultuous experience of having a parent in jail in this honest and stirring story of a young man forced to grow up quickly.

Audience
young adultchildrensmiddle grade
Length
medium · 240 pages

Click a tag to see books like this one that share it. Point at it (on a phone, tap it) for less of it instead.

Read it? Sign in to help tag it.

Liked Do Not Pass Go? Here’s where I’d start.

These suit anyone who liked Do Not Pass Go. Sign in and mark a few books for picks shaped around your own taste.

  1. In the Company of Crazies Shares young adult, realistic fiction, realistic
  2. My Not-So-Terrible Time at the Hippie Hotel Shares young adult, realistic fiction, contemporary
  3. Diamonds in the Shadow Shares young adult, realistic fiction, fiction
  4. On the Flip Side Shares young adult, realistic fiction

“People who read Do Not Pass Go tend to reach for these next.”

  1. Way Down Deep
  2. Gabriel's Horses
  3. Second Impact
  4. The Mailbox

“If you want more of the same (literary fiction about addiction), start with these.”

  1. Lockdown
  2. Edges
  3. Kiss Me Tomorrow
  4. We Thought We Were Invincible

“If it was the realistic fiction that hooked you, try one of these.”

  1. Nobody Else Has to Know
  2. A Good Long Way
  3. Random
  4. A Waste of Good Paper

“These start from a similar idea, even if they go somewhere else with it.”

  1. Catch a Tiger by the Toe
  2. Far Apart, Close in Heart: Being a Family when a Loved One is Incarcerated
  3. Bullet Point
  4. Molly and Her Dad