No Going Back, Patrick FloresScott
No Going Back, Patrick FloresScott
List: $24.99 | Sale: $17.50
Club: $12.49

No Going Back

Author: Patrick Flores-Scott

Narrator: Ramón de Ocampo

Unabridged: 6 hr 59 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 04/02/2024


Synopsis

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

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

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.

PRAISE FOR NO GOING BACK

"Fast-paced, poignant, and poetic . . . 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. 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." —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
 
"Patrick 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

Reviews

Goodreads review by H. on January 18, 2024

3.5. I really, really like the characters in this book. A lot, I think they fairly represent the impact that addiction and incarceration have on families and communities. I think it’s important, too, to point out that Antonio has a team, that is rooting for him every step of the way. Most teens do h......more

Goodreads review by Chrissy on April 03, 2024

Antonio has just been released from Zephyr Woods where he has spent the last year and a half for what he feels he is a crime he is only a little at fault for. Somehow he wound up with the majority of the punishment, but he's come to terms, he learned some important things from some amazing people at......more

Goodreads review by Nicole on April 03, 2024

Thank you Netgalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review! "No Going Back" by Patrick Flores-Scott is an emotionally resonant coming-of-age story that explores themes of forgiveness and redemption. The book follows the main character, Antonio, as he st......more

Goodreads review by Justine on March 24, 2024

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this story. SPOILERS TO FOLLOW This book was a rollercoaster. I was torn between hating all of the character to loving them and the journey's they were going on. (I don't think I ever really hated Grace/Tommy though). There was a lot in here to b......more

Goodreads review by Madelyn on July 23, 2024

It feels like the author did so much work to get us to be inside Antonio’s head, making us feel for him and understand why he acts the way he does, building this super compelling narrative of humanity, forgiveness, and raw emotion, all for it to lead up to the most unrealistic, illogical, and unfitt......more


Quotes

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

"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