Compromised

A Good Addiction Reviews

Searing, potent and unflinching, Compromised is a uncharted look into life on the streets and what it means to be pushed aside by society. Torn between her love of her father and her anger at being betrayed by him, Maya finds herself thrust into a world unimaginable to anyone not in it. Though her life has been less than ideal, she would easily take the cons and quick escapes to an orphanage.

Maya is a reverberating character, holding a powerful mix of courage and fear. Her character dynamic and progression is painfully realistic with her initial reactions to becoming a warden of the state to her decision to leave and try on her own. Holding a certain level of naivety, Maya's struggles are undeniably believable. Despite her anger at her father, she is unable to turn her back on him completely. Many of her reactions are wrenching to read but pull out the true nature of this story. With her penchant for science and a constant need to develop a hypothesis and procedure, Maya's character is pitched in a unique way. Though she has a large vocabulary, her school intelligence is not likely to cause a dissonance with readers.

Sick of being passed around to foster families that don't care, Nicole goes with Maya. Their companionship is both endearing and entertaining, the two tied together by a tragic cause. With nicknames understood only in context, they forge a friendship seen by the reader before the girls recognize it. The softer sides of both shines through, lurking beneath the forced rough exterior they must have to survive not only in foster homes and orphanages but on the streets as well. With an affliction for mobsters, much akin to Maya's science obsession, Nicole's character is as strongly defined and developed as Maya's. Strengthening the overall effect more, the banter between these two provides relief from the overall dark air of the book.

Further along their way, the two girls find a young boy also living on the streets. His character is as noteworthy, memorable and heartrending as Nicole and Maya, all three pulling the reader's compassion and emotions. With his own quirks and habits, Klon adds a strong dynamic to the girls, mixed further with his unique way of viewing things. He tugs Maya and Nicole between being motherly towards him and their own obligations to themselves. The battle between putting themselves first and helping the group comes up often, interspersed with their growing desperation to survive and the things they are willing to do to make it happen.

In a society where people on the streets, young and old alike, are written off and ignored, Compromised will pitch a jarring look into the other side. How wrong is stealing, when a cheap bag of cough drops could mean the difference between a night of pain and some sort of relief? How hurt is the diner who's stuck with a bill for some pancakes and coffee when it means some homeless teens have food in their bellies for the day? These questions and more are thrust forward in Compromised, ensuring the reader will rethink their state of mind on many things that have become accepted as normal.

With an unerringly strong voice and writing, Compromised pulls the reader in from the start and doesn't let them go even after the book has finished. A dark and depressing overall air mixed with innumerable twists, this is a gripping read unlike any other.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Compromised

34. Compromised by Heidi Ayarbe
Genre: Young Adult
Pages: 464
Maya's life has been far from typical, but it's about to get even more so when her con-man father gets arrested. Maya finds herself in a group home - miserable and alone. Then she gets word that there is a relative out there that may be able to take her in, but none of the adults believe her or are willing to help her track them down. So one night she sets off on her own, a runaway from the state with a highly unlikely companion.

Maya, who now goes by Jeopardy on the streets, doesn't realize just how much she doesn't know about life until she hits the roads to try and find her aunt. She learns about life and responsibility, while tackling moral dilemmas she never even imagined before. As she comes to understand the world better, with the help of her the companions she meets along the way, she begins to doubt the way she looks at life.

A fantastic story of a girl finding out that there is more to life than she could have possibly imagined. Not all things turn out OK, but that's what real life is all about sometimes.

5/5

amazing

i never gt emotional during book but this one hit my heart. phenominal story and told great. you felt everything an still couldnt believe what happened. im in lkve with this nook

Reviewed by Sally Kruger aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com

Maya loves science. She approaches every situation first with a "hypothesis" and then a plan of action. Her life is filled with situations that need her attention.

Raised by a single father after her mother's suicide, Maya has been shifted from place to place as her father has "hustled" to make a living for them. He was caught in his last con-game, and now he's in prison and Maya has become part of the system. As the newest resident in the orphanage, Maya's latest "hypothesis" is focused on escape.

She puts her plan into action when she learns she may be headed to live with an odd, overly-religious family. Her brief visit with them made her extremely uncomfortable, and she knows she doesn't have much time before she could be living with them permanently. She packs her few possessions and, following her father's vague instructions, heads back to the last place she called home to find a box of her mother's things that supposedly holds valuable information about an aunt who might be her last chance for a real home.

Maya is joined by Nicole, another resident from the orphanage. Not long into their journey, they meet Klondike, a homeless street kid with a disfiguring burn and Tourette's syndrome. Together they begin the search for Maya's aunt.

Life on the streets is tough. The three leave Reno behind by hitchhiking and bumming rides however they can. The little money they have doesn't last long, and as hunger sets in, they resort to raiding dumpsters and shoplifting. They sleep on the streets and try to warm up by stopping in libraries as Maya tries to gather information about her only surviving relative.

Author Heidi Ayarbe does not glamorize life on the streets. Her story of Maya and friends is bleak and without much hope. Readers will be driven to read out of morbid curiosity as they observe the downward spiral of the three travelers. COMPROMISED gives insight into the increasing problem of the homeless and the sad fact that innocent children are among them.

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