Comment

Dec 30, 2016joywolf83 rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
 A long read but a story not told often. I agree with the above comments that this an exceptional book. Since everyone has pretty much said already how I feel about it I will just mention a few things. I don't feel any of this was unrealistic. I think it portrayed prison life in a way where you could understand Perry's desire to be with his mom yet also  understand no one wants to stay there. In the US there a stigma with prison. When, in fact, minimum security prisoners know the basic rules and it does becomes a community. I love how it humanized everyone. Yes, people who go to prison are bad but really many are there for making bad decisions. And isn't that a solid lesson to teach children? That the choices they make now can have results lasting for a long time. Prisons have become a business in a very scary way. https://youtu.be/yqQa_0gM6hg This book easily could have been the champion for prisons but instead it really focused on the personal stories going on. Even though at 400 pages this book was super long, it not only grabbed my attention but I also began to care for them. The one girl said it's difficult to judge someone once you know their story. I think this is a story that should be told and that many students will be curious about.