Despite having moved out of the rough housing project where he grew up, ten-year-old Junebug continues to encounter crime, gangs, and violence.

The lives of Jason Wilder and Meili Wen intersect in the delinquent-proof room for in-school suspension, known as the Rubber Room, and Jason's growing, fierce protectiveness of Meili explodes into violence when her chance to return to her wealthy lifestyle in Hong Kong--and his opportunity to escape poverty, loneliness, and the past--is threatened.--

A Harlem high school dropout escapes from a gang of punks into a boxing gym, where he learns that being a contender is hard and often discouraging work, but that you don't know anything until you try.