Nothing to Lose

By Alex Flinn

I shouldn't have come back to Miami . . . I've been escaping cops' notice for a year now. I'm no longer Michael Daye, high school athlete with a promising future. Now I look like someone whit no future.

When Michael saw a chance to leave town with a traveling carnival a year ago, he took it. Back then, his home life was spinning violently out of control. The carnival, with its "no questions asked" policy, seemed like a welcome escape. But now Michael's job has brought him back to Miami, where his mother is on trial for murder, making him wonder how much longer he can hide from his past . . . and his future.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperTeen
• Release date: Mar 13, 2012
• ISBN: 9780062208224

Alex Flinn

Alex Flinn loves fairy tales and is the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Beastly, a spin on Beauty and the Beast that was named a VOYA Editor’s Choice and an ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers. Beastly is now a major motion picture starring Vanessa Hudgens. Alex also wrote A Kiss in Time, a modern retelling of Sleeping Beauty; Cloaked, a humorous fairy-tale mash-up; Bewitching, a reimagining of fairy-tale favorites, including Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella, The Princess and the Pea, and The Little Mermaid, all told by Kendra, the witch from Beastly; Towering, a darkly romantic take on Rapunzel; and Mirrored, a fresh spin on Snow White. Her other books for teens include Breathing Underwater, Breaking Point, Nothing to Lose, Fade to Black, and Diva. She lives in Miami with her family. Visit her online at www.alexflinn.com.

Reviews for Nothing to Lose

[kristinamiranda-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It's been a few years since I read this book, but I remember being really engaged, and very moved by the dilema of the protagonist. Very well written.

[cammykitty · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Through her many professions, Alex Flinn has worked with violent teens and teens in violent situations. She understands abuse in a way I hope never to. "Nothing to Lose" is one of her many books that helps the understand these kinds of situations. As "Nothing to Lose" opens, Michael Daye's mother is on trial for her husband's murder and Michael is in hiding as a carny. The book unfolds with two timelines. In the past, Michael tries persuasion to get his mother to leave her abusive husband. He feels he needs to protect her, but nothing works. The violence is escalating into the danger zone but his mother won't help herself. In the present, Michael is on the run, caught off from the people of his past, and unsure of what to do next. The two timelines are skillfully woven together to form an interesting, if not terrible surprising, story.

[kate0damgaard · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Nothing to Lose is a well written and fast paced book. You can tell by the detail given Alex Flinn knows her stuff. From the beginning of the story you are hooked and cannot put the book down. This is a tale of redemption that ends in a not expected way. The story's characters are well written and have good depth. The only thing I wish we would have found out more about is the step-fathers story. But you do have to have a bad guy.

[rabbitrun_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Good plot twists throughout will keep YA readers guessing as to what will happen next.