Jan Walker

This offers a perspective I haven't seen in children's novels: the impact of incarcerated parents on their children. Not the strongest story.

Jenna's dad is serving prison time on McNeil Island for the crime of murder. Jenna's mother has a strict rule that no one in the family talk about their father being in prison, that people will look upon the family as criminals. Because of this rule, Jenna is afraid to make new friends in her grandparents' town where they've moved to be closer to show more McNeil. Currently, she and Andi are being "evaluated" for acceptance by the Snoops, an exclusive group of diverse girls who hang out together. If her potential friends ever found out about her father... Jenna finds it very difficult to maintain the family secret especially when she learns that Andi's dad is a police officer. She understands what her father means when he says prisoners are not the only ones serving time; so do their children. show less

This book is part memoir, part exposé on our prison system. It's an interesting read, from the perspective of a woman who spent almost two decades educating inmates. What makes this book unique, for me, is that the author did not start out as an activist. She had no strong beliefs about our justice system. She sort of fell into the job, figuring it out as she went along.

Because this memoir encompasses decades, some of the author's experiences no longer apply to current circumstances. Laws show more and prison systems have changed. Still, much hasn't changed, and the lessons learned here remain the same.

For the most part, Jan Walker does not address our justice system or the intricacies of prison life. The focus here is on the need for education within prisons. Things most of us take for granted, such as personal reflection, are foreign concepts to many inmates. The majority of these men and women have children, but have no idea how to parent and have no good role models. Since most incarcerated men and women are eventually released, it is in society's best interest to do all we can to ensure they will lead productive, healthy lives. Even more important, we need to ensure they know how to nurture their children, so the generations don't continue the criminal behavior.

This is an easy read, with a conversational writing style. The author's hope in writing this book is that it will inspire people to consider prison reform in new ways. I join her in that hope, because we badly need both reform and more people as devoted as Jan Walker.

*I was provided with a free copy by the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.* show less

My personal response to the book: It is a good book that describes life for children whose parents are incarcerated. An outlet for them in the library could be helpful.
Curricular connections: Curricular connections for this book include: incarcerated parents, language arts class, and counseling. As a TL and school counselor, I would recommend this book to the school counselor in the building and have it available in the library.