The Car Thief: A Boy's Perilous Journey through the Juvenile Justice System

2021 Gold Medal Winner - Reader's Favorite Awards - Legal Thriller
2021 NYC Big Book Award - Winner - Legal Thriller

Twelve-year-old Kelly Morgan wants only to return home to the wilds of Wyoming. All that's standing in his way are two thousand miles and the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. When he pays a heavy price for a youthful lapse in judgment, who might come to his rescue?

Henry, the public defender assigned to the case? Bonnie, the feisty, resourceful justice official? Or Sam, the veteran correctional officer who wants a quiet, orderly existence—or so he thinks?

This suspenseful tale of loss and redemption reveals serious flaws in the criminal justice system and the power of kindness, friendship, and love in healing life's deepest wounds.

. . . reveals the strengths that can emerge when adults within the system step up to guide youth through hard times and trauma . . . I highly recommend this book for adults and young adults alike.— Marcy Mistrett, CEO, Campaign for Youth Justice, Washington, DC

This book will grab you and hold you till its satisfying ending.— Richard Ross, Author of Juvenile in Justice and creator of Juvenile-in-Justice

An important read, weaving information about our justice system with a narrative that's hard to put down.— Naomi Smoot Evans, Executive Director, Coalition for Juvenile Justice, Washington, D.C.

Vicki Reed, after earning her bachelor's degree in Law Enforcement and master's degree in Criminal Justice, immersed herself in a successful decades-long career in juvenile justice. A sought-after speaker, she is currently executive director of the Kentucky Juvenile Justice Initiative in Lexington, where she lives with her husband and son.