Lockdown Themes

In his young life, Reese has experienced more than his fair share of the old violence. It surrounds him on the streets and at home, and even follows him into juvenile prison. Growing up, Reese ofte...

In Lockdown, Reese knows that, in theory, he has choices—but in reality, it doesn't feel that way. On the street, before his incarceration, it didn't feel like he was making choices; things just...

Sadness hangs over many of the characters in Lockdown, including Mr. Hooft and Toon. But since the story is told by Reese, it's his sadness that we're most tuned in to. Over the course of the novel...

Reese's hopes and dreams for his future are pretty modest: He'd like to have a job and fit in, maybe joke around with people sometimes. But even these simple things feel impossible at Progress. Bei...

Lockdown explores several themes that fall under the umbrella of prejudice, especially racism and the stigma attached to juvenile criminals. Mr. Hooft, who is intensely racist, is worst in show by...

In Lockdown, criminality is a concept that is unfairly applied. A character like Mr. Pugh, an employee at Progress, can commit criminal acts without getting into trouble, but Reese takes the heat f...

Reese seems hyper aware of people's race—it's the first thing he notices about any given character in Lockdown. Since we're looking at the world through his eyes, that means we readers are hyper...

There is a lot of fear in Reese's life. It seems to come at him from all sides, thanks to the threat of violence from employees at Progress, his fellow inmates, and even his own father, who beat hi...