No Going Back

by Patrick Flores-Scott

Overview

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

"Powerful…. The excellent pacing and heart-wrenching exploration of redemption will sweep readers up." —Kirkus Reviews

"A page-turning, highly readable story." —Booklist

"Time-stamped chapters add urgency, intensity, and excitement as the thrilling plot progresses, making for a page-turning story about forgiveness and personal evolution." —Publishers Weekly

"The fast pace of the book will keep readers engaged as they bounce between the present and the past …. the energy of Antonio’s story will sweep interested readers along, and they will sympathize with his desire to become the person he knows he can be throughout this novel focused on friendship, loyalty and redemption." —Bookpage

In this tour de force about one teen’s quest for redemption from the award-winning author of American Road Trip, Antonio is determined to make amends to the people he hurt most—even if it means breaking the terms of his early release from juvenile detention.

It’s Friday morning, and seventeen-year-old Antonio Sullivan is on the verge of earning his early release from Zephyr Woods Youth Detention Center. Having been incarcerated for the last year and a half for a crime he didn’t directly commit, he’s now dedicating himself to his education and his sobriety program. What’s more, Antonio is driven by a deep need to make amends to the two people he hurt the most: his mom and his lifelong best friend, Maya. The conditions of his early release are clear—Antonio can’t have any contact with his father or miss his first meeting with his parole officer Monday morning. But a lot can happen between Friday and Monday, especially when the odds are against you.

Told through time-stamped chapters that race at a fever pitch over the course of a weekend, this absorbing coming-of-age novel explores what it means to right past wrongs in the face of adversity.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316407502
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	04/02/2024
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.40(d)
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

Patrick Flores-Scott is the acclaimed author of the award-winning novels Jumped In and American Road Trip, which was named a YALSA Best Fiction Book, a TAYSHAS Reading List Selection, an SLJ National Hispanic Heritage Month pick, and a Teen Vogue Best Gift Book, and was licensed to WEBTOON for graphic digital serialization. Patrick taught public school in Seattle, Washington, for many years and has written for theater and the slam poetry stage. He lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with his family and invites you to visit him online at patrickfloresscott.com.

Editorial Reviews

02/05/2024

On a Friday, 17-year-old Antonio Echeverria Sullivan secures an early release from a Washington state youth detention center for a crime that his father implicated him in. His parole officer schedules a meeting with Antonio on Monday to go over parole terms, but as the weekend progresses, external forces work against him and test his resolve to stay on the straight and narrow. Seeking to make amends with his Uruguayan mother and childhood best friend Maya, Antonio yearns to obtain redemption and absolution, and to start over. Past associates jeopardize his freedom and refuse to leave him alone until he divulges the location of an item that he hid before his arrest, and all the while Antonio contends with his mother’s serious illness, which CPS cited as the reason they put him in his abusive and manipulative father’s custody in the first place. Poetic flashbacks by Flores-Scott (American Road Trip) detail Antonio’s downward spiral while also presenting his reflections about the world around him, and time-stamped chapters add urgency, intensity, and excitement as the thrilling plot progresses, making for a page-turning story about forgiveness and personal evolution. Ages 14–up. Agent: Steven Chudney, Chudney Agency. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for No Going Back:
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

"This is a taut coming-of-age story told in a combination of prose, with chapter headers that mark the day and time, and poems that flash back to earlier events. Antonio’s journey of self-realization features powerful inner dialogue that allows readers to understand the impulses that lead to his poor choices, and the novel brutally reflects the consequences and trials of addiction, chronic illness, and domestic violence on a family. The excellent pacing and heart-wrenching exploration of redemption will sweep readers up."—Kirkus Reviews

"Told in Antonio’s first-person voice, the chapters alternate between loose free verse and prose, the former providing the rough-edged, gritty backstory. Antonio is a sympathetic character who makes bad decisions, and trouble seems to stick to him… [a] page-turning, highly readable story."—Booklist

"Seeking to make amends with his Uruguayan mother and childhood best friend Maya, Antonio yearns to obtain redemption and absolution, and to start over…. Poetic flashbacks by Flores-Scott (American Road Trip) detail Antonio’s downward spiral while also presenting his reflections about the world around him, and time-stamped chapters add urgency, intensity, and excitement as the thrilling plot progresses, making for a page-turning story about forgiveness and personal evolution."—Publishers Weekly

"The fast pace of the book will keep readers engaged as they bounce between the present and the past …. the energy of Antonio’s story will sweep interested readers along, and they will sympathize with his desire to become the person he knows he can be throughout this novel focused on friendship, loyalty and redemption."
 —BookPage

"Fast-paced, poignant, and poetic, Patrick Flores-Scott's No Going Back tracks rage—its sources, disconnects, misjudgments, and consequences—without flinching. This is a book of unexpected hope."—Sondra Soderborg, author of Sky Ropes

"A deep look into the heart of being misunderstood, told with prose you just can't fake. Flores-Scott has achieved something vital here, a lyrical take on self-reclamation laid out over a weekend of cold reality. With honest voices, a flow of poetry, and a satisfying conclusion, this book is a gift with a purpose, the kind you hand to a reader that both wants and needs it."—Sean Beaudoin, author of Welcome Thieves and Wise Young Fool

"A gripping and heart-wrenching novel about family, friendship and second chances—will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end."—Betty Culley, author of Three Things I Know are True and The Name She Gave Me

"Poetry, resilience, unflinching honesty, a steady undercurrent of hope, plus a wild adventure with a ticking clock, this book packs it all in for a three-day turbulent ride that’s full of heart. Tonio does all the wrong things for all the right reasons, and I rooted for him every step of the way. His story explores the many places love can come from, and how our family, friends, and community keep us afloat during the toughest of times."—Kristin Bartley Lenz, author of The Art of Holding On and Letting Go

"A powerful story of the push and pull between doing what’s right and being there for the people we love."—Katherine Higgs-Coulthard, author of Junkyard Dogs and Hanging with My Peeps

"No Going Back showcases how difficult it is to successfully navigate both parole and the reentry process when your past isn’t done with you, and when you aren’t quite done with your past. Through it all, Flores-Scott delivers a beautiful exploration of familial love, the idea of healthy friendships, and the long-term impacts of trauma."—Rita Shah, author of The Meaning of Rehabilitation and Its Impact on Parole

Praise for American Road Trip:
Printz Award Longlist 
Latinidad List, Best YA Novel 
YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults List 
Bank Street College Best Book of the Year 
TAYSHAS Reading List Selection 
Teen Vogue Best Gift Book for Teens 
Little Free Library Action Book Club Pick 
Connecticut, Nutmeg Award Finalist
Evergreen Teen Book Award Finalist
Georgia Peach Finalist
Arizona, Grand Canyon Reader Award Finalist
Licensed to Webtoons for Graphic Digital Serialization
 
* "In a story about mending broken ties, making sacrifices, and visiting landscapes and loved ones from the past, Flores-Scott (Jumped In) invites readers to follow T on a road trip that brings to life the Avilas’ Latino heritage and Manny’s disorder. In addition to the book’s serious subject matter, it celebrates many things: family love, realized dreams, and the taste of a green chile cheeseburger." —Publishers Weekly, starred review
 
* "This powerful story also reminds readers that the paths to their dreams may have to take detours but are still attainable." —Booklist, starred review
 
* "Adeptly provides a window and a mirror of Latinx culture and reimagines the American road trip as an individual journey, one deeply anchored in sacrifice for those we love." —School Library Journal, starred review 
 
"Written in T's vulnerable, observant voice, American Road Trip holds true to classic road-trip themes like the emotional power of sing-alongs and unexpected detours, but it also wades into the darker waters of mental illness with both realism and sensitivity."—The New York Times

From the Publisher

Ramón de Ocampo's narrative momentum captures the dramatic 72 hours experienced by 17-year-old Antonio after he is released from a youth detention center. As Antonio reunites with friends and family, de Ocampo captures his anger at his wrongful arrest for robbery and the painful relationships that led to it. De Ocampo also expresses Antonio's remorse and desire to follow the rules of his parole and to make amends with his mother and Maya, his best friend. As Antonio pursues a secret plan to recover the money that was stolen and make everything right, de Ocampo ramps up the pacing and gives him a tone of desperation. De Ocampo's depiction of Antonio's wise, caring stepfather occasionally provides some relief from the story's tension. S.W. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine

APRIL 2024 - AudioFile

2024-01-05
Antonio Echeverría Sullivan is just out of juvie, and he really does want to follow all the rules—but will his past let him?

Antonio wants to tell you his story, and he hopes you’ll believe him. He’s a white and Uruguayan teen boy who’s spent the last year and a half at the Zephyr Woods Youth Detention Center in Washington state’s Puget Sound area, taking the fall for a crime he wasn’t primarily responsible for. The conditions of his early release are clear, among them checking in with his parole officer, avoiding all contact with his father, staying sober, attending high school, and following a curfew. Desperate to make amends with his mother and his best friend, Maya, Antonio immediately sets off on a 72-hour journey, trying to outrun his past—and breaking all the rules, which might land him back at the detention center and permanently ruin all the relationships he’s trying to save. This is a taut coming-of-age story told in a combination of prose, with chapter headers that mark the day and time, and poems that flash back to earlier events. Antonio’s journey of self-realization features powerful inner dialogue that allows readers to understand the impulses that lead to his poor choices, and the novel brutally reflects the consequences and trials of addiction, chronic illness, and domestic violence on a family.

The excellent pacing and heart-wrenching exploration of redemption will sweep readers up. (author’s note) (Fiction. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews