Compromised

by Heidi Ayarbe

Overview

Maya's life has always been chaotic. Living with a con-man dad, she's spent half her life on the run. Whenever her father's schemes go wrong, Maya finds a scientific way to fix it. But when her dad ends up in prison and foster care fails, Maya grasps at her last possible hope of a home: a long-lost aunt, who may not even exist.

So Maya formulates a plan, and with her wits, two unlikely allies, and twenty dollars in her pocket, she sets off in search of this aunt, navigating the unpredictable four hundred miles from Reno to Boise. Life on the streets, though, becomes a struggle for survival—those scientific laws Maya has relied on her whole life just don't apply. And with each passing day, Maya's definitions of right and wrong are turned upside down when she's confronted with the realities and dangers of life as a runaway. She can't help but wonder if trying to find her aunt—and some semblance of stability—is worth the harrowing journey or if she should compromise and find a way to survive on her own.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062001467
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	05/04/2010
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	480
File size:	446 KB
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

Heidi Ayarbe grew up in Nevada and has lived all over the world. She now makes her home in Colombia with her husband and daughter. She is also the author of Compulsion, Compromised, and Freeze Frame.

Editorial Reviews

When Maya’s con-man father gets sent to federal prison, the scientifically minded 15-year-old decides to run away rather than face foster care. Nicole, a suicidal girl she meets at a group home, joins Maya as she travels from Nevada to Idaho to find an aunt she cannot even remember. As they sleep in abandoned buildings, face bullies, and scrounge for food, Maya searches for clues to her aunt’s whereabouts from letters she wrote to her dead mother. Readers will quickly understand the difficulty of Maya’s life on the streets, from the rats that crawl on her at night to failed attempts at shoplifting and seeing a friend get sick and die. There are warm moments, too, such as when she and her friends pretend to roast marshmallows under a starry sky, or when she finally admits that irritating-but-loyal Nicole has become her “favorite person.” Ayarbe’s (Freeze Frame) characters sometimes strain credibility—sweet Klondike, who has Tourette syndrome, never feels entirely authentic, for example. But the touching moments between Maya and Nicole will keep readers with them through their long journey. Ages 12-up. (May)

Publishers Weekly

Maya’s narrative of youngster’s who have slipped through the cracks is both heart wrenching and hopeful. An absorbing tale. — Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA)

With a sharp ear for dialogue and prose propelled by a searing urgency, the author plumbs the depths of her characters’ souls for horrors and treasures alike. A poignant portrait. — Kirkus Reviews

A gut-wrenching, terrifyingly authentic story and memorably etched, courageous characters. Reminiscent of Adam Rapp’s 33 Snowfish, this challenging read will leave readers holidng out a faint hope for Maya’s future. — Booklist

From the Publisher

A gut-wrenching, terrifyingly authentic story and memorably etched, courageous characters. Reminiscent of Adam Rapp’s 33 Snowfish, this challenging read will leave readers holidng out a faint hope for Maya’s future.

Booklist

Maya’s narrative of youngster’s who have slipped through the cracks is both heart wrenching and hopeful. An absorbing tale.

Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA)

A gut-wrenching, terrifyingly authentic story and memorably etched, courageous characters. Reminiscent of Adam Rapp’s 33 Snowfish, this challenging read will leave readers holidng out a faint hope for Maya’s future.

Booklist

Gr 9 Up—The daughter of a con man, Maya's been on the a run all her life, but when her dad's bad deals finally catch up to them, she loses the only family she's ever had and ends up in the Nevada foster-care system. Passionate about science, the 15-year-old seeks to develop a hypothesis and follow the scientific method to get her father out of prison. Realizing this plan's futility, she goes back to the only other thing she really knows how to do: run. Maya formulates a new hypothesis that will hopefully lead her to an aunt in Idaho whom she's never met and some type of normalcy. One variable that she doesn't anticipate, however, is the addition of two other runaways who are also looking for something more. Gritty and realistic in action and language, this novel brings to light the plight of displaced teens. Maya is a strong character who tries to be true to herself while playing the caregiver role she always seems to fall into—first to her dad and now to her fellow runaways. The three form a strong bond that rings true even though the setting will likely be unfamiliar to many readers. While sympathy is evoked for the characters, emotions are not overplayed. The quick pace and flesh-and-blood main characters will appeal to avid and reluctant readers alike.—Gina Bowling, South Gibson County High School, Medina, TN

School Library Journal

Maya, the world-weary daughter of a seasoned con, finds solace in using scientific equations to exert order over the chaos of her life. So when her father lands behind bars in Reno and signs 15-year-old Maya over to the state, she methodically formulates a plan for escape. But when she sets out to find a long-lost aunt, Maya soon finds herself saddled with Nicole, an illiterate kleptomaniac, and Klondike, a ten-year-old with Tourette's. As the unlikely trio heads north, winter sets in, further complicating a journey through shattered hopes and harsh consequences. Ayarbe doesn't pander to her readers: She tackles the grim realities of homelessness-sexual exploitation, drug use and mental illness, among them-with a brutal frankness. With a sharp ear for dialogue (asked how he's feeling, Klondike replies: "Like I was eaten by a wolf and shit out over a cliff") and prose propelled by a searing urgency, the author plumbs the depths of her characters' souls for horrors and treasures alike. A poignant portrait slightly marred by its fairy-tale ending, out of place in an otherwise devastated landscape. (Fiction. 14 & up)

Kirkus Reviews