This is a fictional retelling of abuses that occurred at the Dozier Academy, a reform school for teenage boys in Florida. The systemic abuse includes rape, which is referenced throughout (sometimes using the word rape, sometimes using references to “Lover’s Leap.”). There is one character for whom rape is a central part of his arc, which is recounted on pages 148-49. Given the history this book is based on, the sexual violence was handled carefully and non-graphically.