I Am a Taxi by Deborah Ellis

Diego works as a "taxi", running errends for the women at the prison where he lives with his mother and little sister. He's a good businessman--honest and trustworthy, and makes sure he knows up front what he will be paid for his work. His father is in the men's prison, and Diego thinks longingly of the life his family had on their Bolivian farm before his parents were arrested for a crime they didn't commit. Diego knows he should follow his own good business rules, but his friend Mando is trying to convince him to work for strangers for "big money"--without knowing what the job is, where it is, or what they will be paid. Ellis offers an eye-opening look at life for children living in Bolivian prisons and the reality behind international drug-trafficking.