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41st out of 82 books
—
13 voters
Nothing to Lose
by
Alex Flinn (Goodreads Author)
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...more
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...more
Paperback, 304 pages
Published
April 12th 2005
by HarperTeen
(first published March 30th 2004)
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This is probably the fourth or fifth book I've read from Alex Flinn, and although it was one of her first novels published way back in 2005, I still loved it just as much as some of her more recent novels. In "Nothing to Lose" Michael Daye's mother is being prosecuted for killing her abusive husband, who is also Michael's stepfather. The book alternates chapters to retell the events that Michael experienced under Walker's (the stepfathers) roof and explain what Michael is currently experiencing;...more
Michael’s life became complicated when his mother married Walker, a big lawyer in Miami. His mother swears she’s sticking to the marriage all for him, but Michael wishes his mother would leave the abusive situation. She claims that Walker will kill them both if she tries to leave, so she continues to live in fear. Michael finds a way of escape through the carnival that comes to town, especially through a girl named Kirsten. She encourages him to run away with them and be a carnie, and Michael is...more
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Alex Flinn did it again. After reading Beastly I got excited when I saw another book by Alex Flinn. Nothing To Lose was a really compelling page turner for me. The Story is set in two different times. Now don't think this is Sci-Fi but its told all in the main character, Micheal Daye's, point of view from One Year ago and the present time.
Michael, like many boys, loves football and his friends but when his attractive mother marries a rich lawyer things for him seem to go down hill, He quits the...more
Michael, like many boys, loves football and his friends but when his attractive mother marries a rich lawyer things for him seem to go down hill, He quits the...more
This was a nice change from the dystopian, futuristic novels that I've been reading recently. I found the new perspective refreshing, and enjoyed the realistic plot that came along with it.
The narrations from both the past and the present worked wonderfully to help the story flow, and I found both tales equally interesting. Every character was flawed, and very relatable. The gaps in the narrations fill themselves in as the story progresses, and by the end of the book I had a very clear view of M...more
The narrations from both the past and the present worked wonderfully to help the story flow, and I found both tales equally interesting. Every character was flawed, and very relatable. The gaps in the narrations fill themselves in as the story progresses, and by the end of the book I had a very clear view of M...more
Alex Flinn's portrayal of Michael Daye and his struggle with his family was definitely refreshing read. The story felt original and seemed to stray from the plot lines of typical teen fiction. The way the chapters alternated between past and present events for Michael continue to unveil new secrets and keep the story interesting. I could really feel Michael's struggle as I continued to read.
Although I really liked the development of the plot and of Michael's character, I felt like Michael was th...more
Although I really liked the development of the plot and of Michael's character, I felt like Michael was th...more
This was not my favorite Alex Flinn novel. It's just all right. I felt like the character development was missing in this one. Normally Alex Flinn is really good at making you empathize with and understand everyone's side. I didn't really care that much about Michael and, I hate to say it, but I didn't have a lot of sympathy for his mother, either. Walker seemed too bad to be true. I wish she had given him a couple of good qualities because I think that would have helped make this book as multi-...more
Mar 01, 2010
Dara Williams
added it
Recommends it for:
anyone looking for a good fiction book
Recommended to Dara by:
no one
Nothing To Loose by Alex Flinn is a very good book, and I really enjoyed reading it, unlike many other books that I've read it truly kept me wanting to read more. (I also think that I enjoy reding Alex Flinn books in general because I loved Breathing Underwater.) At first I was a bit confused when reading this novel because the plots go back and forth from when the main character Micheal living with his mother to when he came back. Yet I believe the reason why I liked this novel so much was beca...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
"Nothing to Lose" was a really good book. I thought the whole thing with switching the years was a little confusing, but it was put together well. What I didn't like was the whole thing about how powerless the mom was. Yeah, I know, they're just showing what really happens to people in real life. I remember a line that talked about how some people just didn't want to think that something this bad was possible. That really got to me. Anyway, that line is right. I don't want to know all the detail...more
I love Alex Flinn's contemporary YA novels. While Beastly is one of my favorite books ever, I'm not as big a fan of Ms. Flinn's other paranormal/fantasy YA. This early dark stuff? Amazing. Just like with Breathing Underwater, Nothing to Lose tackles some heavy issues (in this case, spousal abuse leading to the stepdad's death and the stepson running away -- this isn't a spoiler, it's the basis of the book). I enjoyed the characters, and I really appreciated the resolution. Definitely worth a rea...more
This is a book about a young boy who's life starting spinning out of control when he step father is abusing his mother and there is nothing that he can do to stop. Then one day, after he quit the football team and left all of his friends, an old friend asked to take him to the fair. When Michael gets tot he fair, what does he find? Trouble? How about love? After meeting someone new at the fair his life seems ot be getting a little better. He spends time with his new "friend" and forgets all abou...more
So you know how some books are just great books? And when you are reading them, you are going "Oh this book is amazing, and the ending will just be great because how else can it end?" So I was saying that for about 250 pages of this book. And then on 251, BAM the whole story just flops and flips and twirls in a sorts! I did NOT at all see the ending coming, and it was just spectacular.
So what is this book about? It is about a kid whose mom was in an abusive relationship and the kid couldn't do...more
So what is this book about? It is about a kid whose mom was in an abusive relationship and the kid couldn't do...more
In this story, Michael Daye is just returning home after running away with the local carnival. It's been a year since he's been in town. And now, his mother is on trial for the murder of his stepfather. Flinn tells of a mysterious tale of how a boy deals with the hardships of an abusive relationship in his home. This book keeps readers on their toes.
I enjoyed this read. The author kept the story interesting by switching each chapter between Michael's past and present. There was a lot of emotion...more
I enjoyed this read. The author kept the story interesting by switching each chapter between Michael's past and present. There was a lot of emotion...more
Nothing To Lose is an amazing story of a 17 year old boy living in Miami, Florida named Michael who lives with his mom and step-father. His step-dad, Walker, constantly beats Michael's mom. He quits the football team in order to stay home and look after his mom more, but instead he gets lured in by a carnival that comes into town. At the carnival, Michael meets and slowly falls in love with a carnie named Kirstie who ran from her home. This is a really fascinating story of a kid who feels like h...more
Oct 15, 2012
Levi
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
everyone who needs a good book.
Recommended to Levi by:
Ms.Palmer in the library.
I have just finished this book a little while ago and I can't seem to find anything wrong with it. It's about a boy who lives with his mother and his stepfather in Miami, his stepfather is a mean and brutal person who treats his wife and stepson with extreme disrespect. I would suggest anyone of any genre preference to read this book for a good time. Some People may not enjoy it because it is slightly inappropriate in some scenes with the stepfather, still, great book and super good author. I r...more
Michael, a sixteen year old boy, joins a carnival group in order to run away from his horrible life at home. He lives the life of any carnival member- mysterious and unknown. His identity is not questioned by any member of the carnival because everyone else has has a past that they wish to hide. Michael sees, on the newspaper, news of a woman who is put on trial for murdering her husband. He realizes that the woman is his mother and decides to return to Miami, Florida, to return to his past, and...more
Nothing to Lose
I read “Nothing to Lose” for my April book report. “Nothing to Lose is written by Alex Flinn and it is a mystery book. The main character is Michael Daye/Robert Frost.
The book takes place at two different times so it may be a little confusing. It flips back and forth between last year and this year.
Last Year:
Michael’s mom married Walker, a lawyer, who beats his mother, and Michael only wants to stay away from him. He also wants to be there so his mother doesn’t get beat. He quiet...more
I read “Nothing to Lose” for my April book report. “Nothing to Lose is written by Alex Flinn and it is a mystery book. The main character is Michael Daye/Robert Frost.
The book takes place at two different times so it may be a little confusing. It flips back and forth between last year and this year.
Last Year:
Michael’s mom married Walker, a lawyer, who beats his mother, and Michael only wants to stay away from him. He also wants to be there so his mother doesn’t get beat. He quiet...more
Michael Daye used to be an honor student and a football star. Now, he’s working and living in a travelling carnival, calling himself Robert Frost, and pretending to be nineteen years old. He’s been running and hiding from his past for over a year, but now that the carnival is back in Miami, where he started, he can’t run any more.
Because Michael’s mother is on trial for murder—the murder of her abusive husband, Walker Monroe. Now, Michael needs to face up to his past if he wants to be able to ha...more
Because Michael’s mother is on trial for murder—the murder of her abusive husband, Walker Monroe. Now, Michael needs to face up to his past if he wants to be able to ha...more
I really like this author! I also like the way Alex Flinn wrote the book with one chapter as "Last Year" and "This Year". In dealing with the abuse of his mother, Michael runs away, but returns in time for his mother to go on trial for the death of his step-father. The author makes the reader feel the thoughts and feelings a son might go through as he is forced to watch and hear his mother's cries and her inability to help herself. The ending is surprising and more hopeful than real life.
'Nothing To Lose' was alright. I enjoyed Flinn's book 'A Kiss In Time' because it was funny and hopeful, which is what I'd hoped for from this book. However, I was wrong. This is a darker story about a murder and a battered wife. It was pretty depressing and it seemed like a lot of the problems weren't getting solved. The story was still acceptable because Alex Flinn is just a good writer, and the reader wanted to know what happened next... but I'd still rather read something else.
One of my favorites by Alex flinn. She is a captivating writer, describing the pain and suffering one takes on.
Micheal, life is turned upside town when his mother marries a big time lawyer yet, it's not perfect... He's abusive and angry, and takes it out on his mother and him. Micheal begs his mom to leave him, but she refuses and he is left helpless. How can you help someone who doesn't want to be helped? Flinn beautifully describes the pain Micheal experiences and how he tried to make everythi...more
Micheal, life is turned upside town when his mother marries a big time lawyer yet, it's not perfect... He's abusive and angry, and takes it out on his mother and him. Micheal begs his mom to leave him, but she refuses and he is left helpless. How can you help someone who doesn't want to be helped? Flinn beautifully describes the pain Micheal experiences and how he tried to make everythi...more
Michael knew he should never have come back to Miami, but the carnival was returning and he needed the job. A year ago he was a normal kid with a bright future and a dark secret. His stepdad beat his mother, and Michael couldn't stop it. The carnival offered a don't ask, don't tell refuge, and Michael took it. Now his mom is on trial for the murder of her husband, and Michael must face his past to move toward the future.
Alex Flinn tackles the tough issues. This time it is that of a child whose mother is being abused. Michael's mom is married to a rich lawyer. A rich, mean lawyer who beats her. Sixteen year old Michael quits the football team so he can be home with his mother at night so she won't be alone with her husband. But, that does not stop the abuse. This is a touching realistic story and I highly recommend it.
i just started reading nothing to lose by Alex Flinn. I have already read two of her books and enjoyed them alot. In this book Michael bounces back from this year to last year telling memorie of his mom and Walker. This year Walkers mom was convicted of the murder of Walker. No one believes her how Walker was abusive but Michael keeps having multiple flashbacks of Walker beating her. I really am excited to be reading this book because it keeps me on my toes.
3/18
Im on page 102 and its getting ve...more
3/18
Im on page 102 and its getting ve...more
This book was intresting. We meet Michael who has ran away from home. This mother marries a laywer named Walker, who is abusive and his mother takes it. Michael cannot stand it anymore so he runs away to Miami to be a carni. His mother is devistated but Michael has warned his mother that it would happen if things didnt change. But there is a twist, because Michael's mother is on trial for the murder of Walker. Only Michael knows the truth and he is the only one who can save his mom. Throughout t...more
Michael Daye is hiding from everyone after his stepfather is murdered and his mother is accused and awaiting trial. Nothing to Lose is told from Michael's point of view, alternating between past and present. Michael's conscience, along with the pressure of being exposed in his new life as a carny when he returns to Miami, forces him to decide what it most important. Does he really have anything to lose?
A year after running away with a traveling carnival to escape his unbearable home life, sixteen-year-old Michael returns to Miami, Florida, to find that his mother is going on trial for the murder of his abusive stepfather.
This tense book opens with a newspaper clipping discussing the upcoming trial of Lisa Monroe, who is charged with murdering her husband. Michael, the main character in the story, joined the carnival a year ago, at age 15, and is now back in his hometown of Miami, Florida where...more
This tense book opens with a newspaper clipping discussing the upcoming trial of Lisa Monroe, who is charged with murdering her husband. Michael, the main character in the story, joined the carnival a year ago, at age 15, and is now back in his hometown of Miami, Florida where...more
I enjoyed this book. It jumps from present year to past year as the main character tells his story and remembers some of the hard things he has dealt with (including his violent step-father and his desire to protect his mother at all costs). The author does an excellent job of portraying domestic violence and the emotions it evokes in both the victim and the bystander (The main character is the bystander). Overall a very good read.
This book is about a teenage boy who runs away from home because he murdered his step dad. He was encouraged to runaway by his mom was trying to save him from getting arrested. He ran away to a carnival where he gets to meet people who change his life. I really enjoyed this book because it was full f twist and turns.
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| Mrs. Gallagher's ...: Emily Thompson's Book Review | 1 | 10 | Nov 17, 2012 01:03pm |
I was born in a log cabin in the Big Woods of . . . okay, maybe not. I was born on Long Island, New York. When I was five years old, my mom said that I should be an author. I guess I must have nodded or something because, from that point on, every poem I ever wrote in school was submitted to Highlights or Cricket magazine. I was collecting rejection slips at age seven!
I learned to read early. But...more
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I learned to read early. But...more
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Apr 26, 2010 07:27am