SYNOPSIS

“I think you’re already in jail,” Vidas said and continued to write. “A jail you’re making for yourself. If you want to get out, you’re going to have to open up. Otherwise, nobody can help you.” -- from Bait

In this bold story of a boy trying to grow beyond a painful past, award-winning author Alex Sanchez calls upon his personal experience as a probation officer to reveal the complexities of one of his most genuinely realized characters to date.

When a guy in his class looks at him funny, Diego punches him in the face, and ends up on probation. At first, he wants nothing to do with his probation officer. But as Diego starts to talk, he begins to realize that Mr. Vidas is the first person in his life who ever really wanted to listen to him. With Vidas’s help, Diego begins to make real progress in controlling his anger. He even opens up enough to tell Vidas about the shark tooth that his stepfather gave him that he uses to cut himself. But only if Diego can find the courage to trust Vidas with the darkest secrets from his past will he be able to heal completely.