Hard Knock Life (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781791870829)

New Hope Academy-aka-No Hope. Every housing project has a local group home where unwanted kids are dumped like bags of trash. Those young throwaways view their latest struggle through innocent eyes; some scared, others crying, most of them both. But a HARD KNOCK LIFE spits out sob stories a dime a dozen, and happy endings are about as common as Powerball jackpots. No Hope offers only two options for its lonely newcomers; toughen up quick or get turned out fast

In an environment that breeds bullies, gangbangers, and future Death Row inmates, six of the most ignorant knuckleheads to ever walk through the doors of No Hope clique-up to form the GOON SQUAD. Dun Dun and Trouble, Real and STRONG , Pipsqueak and Lolli, each one was dumped in the trash with their own unique sob story to tell, and let them tell it, they all jumped out of the womb with both feet on the ground and already running. Survival of the fittest is an arms race, and the Goon Squad's mentalities are always on offense, never defense. Ditching school and running scams around the hood are the gang's daily routines, and as far as they're concerned, everyone is a SUCKA

Dun Dun, named twice for his st-st-stutter, isn't the typical throwaway; his moms didn't toss him out, she was beaten to death right in front of him. But he was only a frightened five-year-old boy at the time, and no matter how hard he tries, he can't remember who killed her That's because whoever put in that work on his moms, put in overtime on him, and they didn't stop until they thought he was just as dead as she was. After months of recovering in a hospital I.C.U. then years of bouncing from one foster home to another, Dun Dun's mind never completely healed from the brain damage he suffered at the hands of his mom's murderer. But lately the boy's been off his meds, and now he's feeling closer than ever to fingering her killer.

The gang is a thug's true family, even for a retarded one, and the Goon Squad has Dun Dun's back every step of the way. Along with his half-sister, Trouble-same no-good daddy-through lies, cons, and sometimes sex, the gang helps solve her little brother's murder mystery, and then get his revenge.