Allegedly

It took me a second to get into this book but once I did, I was all in. Mary has been in "baby jail" since she "allegedly" killed a six month old baby while babysitting when she nine. While she never admitted she did, she also never denied she did it either. She just didn't talk. For seven years she just passed the time but when she finds herself pregnant she is finally ready to talk about what happened. It's gripping and full of twists and turns and has an insane twist at the end. If teens can get through the first few chapters they will find themselves addicted. A fun and unique read!

Bedrock Faith

I was a little skeptical of picking this book up. It didn't look like anything I had ever read before and in some degree I was right. It was completely new to me... and I LOVED it!! I fell soo hard for this book. Author, Eric Charles May, describes the south side Chicago hamlet of Parkland so well and in so much detail, that I felt I could have driven there and hung out with the neighbors. Parkland seemed more real to me than my own home town. Hell the neighbors too! Parkland's residents were so lovingly created and so vibrant! There were easily the most realistically flawed and lovable characters I've ever read. I wanted to live on their street!

One wintery morning Parkland residents woke up to find an unwelcome surprise; Stew Pot was out of prison and back in town. Eighteen years of bliss in the neighborhood and now Stew Pot was back, and as a man, not a kid. Stew Pot was the most evil and notorious kid; burning down garages, killing cats, introducing kids to drugs, sleeping around, you name it, he'd done it. Parkland residents decided that they had to do something, but what? This novel tells the story of how these residents try to tackle Stew Pot and get him back in jail. Filled with gossip, rumors, jokes, and musing. This tale will have you enthralled. Soo good! My description doesn't even begin to do it justice. Just read it all ready!

I received this book for free from LibraryThing in return for my honest, unbiased opinion.

Library Services to the Incarcerated: Applying the Public Library Model in Correctional Facility Libraries

For being kind of a heavy topic, this book managed to be super informative, intriguing, humorous at times (definitely helped with the tone of the book), and downright inspiring. I loved it! This is a great book to read if you're considering working in a prison library. While I don't want that to be my sole job (I love being a teen librarian!) I would like to offer book talks/programs/book-carts to the local county jail instead of just to the juvenile detention facility. The authors are right, it's a unique opportunity to help out one of the most underserved populations in the county! I would rather my tax dollars go to help inmates get back on their feet and become better educated and informed citizens then having them get back into the real world and recommit all their crimes. Libraries can help out prisoners in their time of need and vastly change their lives on the inside so that when they go back outside they have a new perspective, they know they're not worthless and they're not alone. Studies have shown that one in every fifteen Americans will go to jail or prison at least once in their lives. That's a pretty high figure! While you can't help or reform everyone behind bars, you can give them an opportunity. Sometimes the smallest thing, a book, can make all the difference!