With his own father in prison, Dylan Dawson seems destined to follow in his footsteps. His infatuation with Jess, a rich girl he deems out of his league, seems to be his only incentive to play it straight. Released from juvenile detention, Dylan is determined to stay on the straight and narrow, but old connections and loyalties pull him down until he’s running from the law once again. Headed to Texas, where his father is scheduled for execution, Dylan learns that he and his father have more in common than he expected. Will Dylan be able to save his father? Or will his father be the one to save him?
Literacy and Delinquency
The underlying theme of this book is the very real connection between illiteracy and delinquency. In his study, “Reading Failure and Juvenile Deliquency,” Dennis Hogenson found illiteracy to be the only consistent correlation for aggression within groups of delinquent teen boys. That correlation did not extend to family size, age, minority status, economic status, religion, or other categories the study examined. Only literacy stood out, and his findings are supported.
Eighty-five percent of teens who enter the juvenile justice system are functionally illiterate, according to the National Assessment of Adult Literacy. The National Institute of Health finds that the illiteracy rate in American correctional facilities is 60 percent. In addition, reading failure is associated with dropping out of school, teenage pregnancy, and poverty.
Illiteracy Explored in Take Me There
In Take Me There, both Dylan Sr. and Dylan Jr. struggle with reading, and Dylan Sr. only learns to read while incarcerated. The book he writes while doing time is followed throughout the story, weaving an intergenerational tale of illiteracy.
We learn that Dylan Sr. was pushed through school because of his football talent. Dylan Jr., on the other hand, has offers of help for his problem, but has difficulty even acknowledging to others that he has a problem. He goes to extraordinary lengths to cover his lack of reading skills. Carolee Dean’s ability to weave the details of illiteracy so flawlessly into her story likely stems from her own background.
About Carolee Dean
Living in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Carolee Dean has worked with high school students as a speech-language pathologist as well as a writer. In her own words, she writes about “life’s journey -- losing your way, finding your path.” Her first novel, Comfort, debuted in 2004 and explored similar themes. If you’re looking for teen books of interest to boys (and girls), give Carolee Dean’s a try.
Hinds, Marian. “Illiteracy and Violence: Confusion About Cause and Effect” (accessed August 8, 2011).
Jennifer Groepl - Living the good life in beautiful Cape Coral, Florida, Jennifer Groepl is currently working on her YA fiction projects. An intrinsically ...
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