Slake's Limbo

By Felice Holman

What's it about?: This is the story of Aremis Slake, a young, abused boy with little self-confidence whose only friend has just been killed. Slake decides to run away from his troubled personal life to live in the tunnels of the New York City subway system. There, free from his worries, Slake learns to survive on his own. And though he faces fear and hunger and loneliness and danger, he also finds work, creates art, meets new people and is able to discover the beauty in an underground world of garbage and grime. When his hiding spot is discovered, Slake is forced back to the surface world permanently and must find a way to cope with his troubles and make positive strides in his life.

Why your child should read it: Slake's Limbo focuses on something almost everyone has wanted to do a some point in their life — run away. Slake is relatable to teens because he's awkward and clumsy and deals with hardship in both his home and social life. Like many teens, Slake wishes he can just run away from his troubles. And for a while, he does. But eventually he's forced out of hiding and must face his problems in the light of day. Slake's is an inspirational story of survival - of crawling through the depths and eventually coming up clean. That's a lesson many teens can relate to, and benefit from.

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