Dirt Road Home

Watt Key

Square Fish

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After his recapture at the end of Alabama Moon, gutsy fourteen-year-old Hal Mitchell is sentenced to live at Hellenweiler, an institution that is more like a jail than the boys’ home it’s supposed to be. Hal could walk out in just a few months if he keeps out of trouble. But in a place like Hellenweiler, the more he tries to avoid the gangs and their violence, the harder Hal’s fellow inmates try to make him fail.

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Reviews

Praise for Dirt Road Home

“Key nicely paces his tale, steadily building the tension. . . . There’s more than enough action to keep the fidgitiest adolescent boy glued to the page here.”—Mobile Press-Register
 
“With authentic characters and a candid first-person narrative, Key’s story offers a disturbing appraisal of life in a juvenile facility, and a riveting battle for justice.”—Publishers Weekly

“The short chapters, quick pacing, and plentiful dialogue make Key’s impressive second effort an especially appealing choice for reluctant boy readers.”—The Horn Book

“A gripping tale of a 14-year-old caught in a justice system that is not about justice at all.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Hal quickly learns that the boys who want to fight him aren’t his real challenge—it’s the guards who allow it to happen.”—Birmingham Magazine

“. . . Hal’s efforts to contain his rage and navigate brawls keep the atmosphere tense and pacing fleet. . . . for comeuppance it doesn’t get much more satisfying.”—Booklist

In the Press

DIRT ROAD HOME by Watt KeyKirkus Book Reviews
Read the Kirkus Review of DIRT ROAD HOME . Although a companion to Alabama Moon (2006) in that it continues the story of one of that book's main characters, this survival tale is by no means dependent on its predecessor.
- Kirkus Reviews

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About the Author

Watt Key

Albert Watkins Key, Jr., publishing under the name Watt Key, is an award-winning southern fiction author. He grew up and currently lives in southern Alabama with his wife and family. Watt spent much of his childhood hunting and fishing the forests of Alabama, which inspired his debut novel, Alabama Moon, published to national acclaim in 2006. Alabama Moon won the 2007 E. B. White Read-Aloud Award and has been translated in seven languages. Key’s second novel, Dirt Road Home, was published in 2010.

Watt Key

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Available Formats and Book Details

Dirt Road Home
Watt Key

Trade Paperback

Trade Paperback
Square Fish
December 2011
Trade Paperback
ISBN: 9780312674359
ISBN10: 031267435X
Middle-Grade Fiction
5 3/16 x 7 5/8 inches, 240 pages
Age Range: 10 and up
Grade Range: 5 and up Information for Librarians

Information for Librarians


Lexile: HL540LL

$7.99
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Hardcover

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Hardcover
Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
July 2010
Hardcover
ISBN: 9780374308636
ISBN10: 0374308632
Middle-Grade Fiction
5 1/2 x 8 1/4 inches, 224 pages
Age Range: 10 to 14
Grade Range: 5 to 9 Information for Librarians

Information for Librarians


Lexile: HL540LL
AR Quiz Number: 140701
AR Points: 7

$16.99
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e-Book Agency

Learn more about this edition
e-Book Agency
Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
July 2010
e-Book Agency
ISBN: 9781429933353
ISBN10: 1429933356
Middle-Grade Fiction224 pages
Age Range: 10 to 14
Grade Range: 5 to 9 Information for Librarians

Information for Librarians


Lexile: HL540LL

$7.99
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