I am reading a good book on kids in juvie:

True Notebooks by Mark Salzman

It is about a writer who goes into a juvie and works with kids in for life and long senstences and how they all learn something from it. Teenagers love this book too (it has cursing in it...fyi)

Mr. Salzman is a very good writer, and while I havent' read the book you mention, I have read "Lying Awake" about a Catholic nunnery in Los Angeles. Given the background you've provided in your post, I'll bet you'll enjoy it a lot, even if you're not a good Catholic (I'm not either).

So, I recommend Lying Awake, and I'll run out and get "True Notebooks."

abner