Gordon Korman’s latest finds a trio of 15-year-old boys plucked from the American penal system and planted in an experimental halfway house in Manhattan. Gecko Fosse, a smart kid whose self-proclaimed hobby is not thinking, is serving time for driving his burglar brother’s getaway car. Arjay Moran is a gentle giant with a talent for music, who accidentally killed a boy in a schoolyard tussle. Terence Florian is a fast-talking petty thief and would-be gang member.

The halfway house affords the boys limited liberty, but if any of them messes up, they all go back to jail. When Terence tries to escape, their minder, the big-hearted Mr. Healy, falls from a fire escape. Healy is hospitalized as a comatose John Doe, and the boys realize they must work together to maintain the appearance that Healy is still at the helm, lest they be sent back to prison.

This is a story about boys learning how to use their innate character traits for positive, rather than criminal, ends. The big, fun irony is that to maintain the façade of the halfway house, they must keep their noses extra clean – an often difficult task when faced with the temptations and opportunities of Manhattan. There is enough action and suspense in this novel to hold just about any reader. On occasion the story adopts a comic-book feel, but those scenes – mostly car chases – are justified, and Korman always guides the narrative back to character.

The Juvie Three does a great job bundling into one package the sort of challenges teens face – especially inner-city boys. Gangs, peer pressure, judgmental or indifferent adults, crushes, school troubles, money woes – they’re all here, and more. Despite occasional plot gaps and some corny Degrassi-esque dialogue, Korman provides an entertaining lesson in making the leap from rebellion to responsibility.