Zero Tolerance

Zero Tolerance
Author(s): Claudia Mills

Seventh-grader Sierra Shepard has always been the perfect student, so when she sees that she accidentally brought her mother's lunch bag to school, including a paring knife, she immediately turns in the knife at the school office. Much to her surprise, her beloved principal places her in in-school suspension and sets a hearing for her expulsion, citing the school's ironclad no-weapons policy. While there, Sierra spends time with Luke, a boy who's known as a troublemaker, and discovers that he's not the person she assumed he would be—and that the lines between good and bad aren't as clear as she once thought.

Review(s):

“After turning in a paring knife she accidentally brought to school with her lunch, a high-achieving, rule-following seventh-grade girl is suspended, and her case becomes a media sensation. . . . Provocative and fun, from a master of the school story.” —Kirkus Reviews

“This compelling novel could also spark a discussion about the slippery nature of rules and how they are enforced.” —School Library Journal

“This will make provocative discussion fodder, and it will also encourage kids to think more deeply about their relationship with rules and approval.” —The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Winner CCBC Choice (Univ. of WI) (2014), Long-listed Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year (2014)

ISBN:  9781250044228