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rwill88's review
5.0
This book is amazing! A searing tale of our unjust criminal system that kills both physically and mentally, young boys and men at astonishing rates. I read this book in a day and a half, and will reread it soon. A must have.
ktreadsnm's review
4.0
This was an honest, moving story of one person who messed up a little and was punished way too much for it.
pennyriley's review
3.0
Political theorist Danielle Allen tries to make sense of her cousin's murder that follows (years later) his attempted carjacking- with gun - at age 15. He admits to previous crimes and is sentenced to 12 years, most of which he serves in adult prisons. While he was not well served by the prison system, and putting a 17 year old into some of the toughest prisons around seems a recipe for extending a criminal career, ultimately no sense is to be made. He leaves prison, breaks his parole conditions and ends up back in jail. After his second release he is murdered. It seems the author's own story, a black girl from the same extended family as her 'cuz' is the more remarkable, making it to the very top of a field not overly receptive to either blacks or women. I enjoyed the first half of the book more as it tells Michael's story and the author's part in it, but the second part gets very theoretical and did not engage my attention.
stestroete's review
2.0
While the subject matter is very relevant and compelling, the writing was not. The book read like a timeline.
francescamoroney's review
4.0
I highly recommend this book for anyone who is angered by or worried about the industrialized prison complex, the criminalization of the poor, racially biased sentencing protocols, racial profiling, or the unjust War on Drugs. Beyond that, it is a compelling first person narrative of how all of those societal forces conspire to derail millions of lives, using one particular boy as the focal point of the story. Mandatory reading as a companion piece to Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow.
bibliokris's review
4.75
Allen’s heartrending tale of a beloved cousin and his death moves from personal memory to a wider and wider lens, to show that Michael’s life circumstances were little different from those of many young men living in gang territory and must make $ and live. The life Michael led was not rare or exemplary but has become commonplace for many. Our citizens’ desire for illegal drugs and the War on Drugs have squeezed the people stuck in the middle. If you read this and give it the thoughtfulness it deserves, you understand the loss of these millions and the potential and beauty we’ve lost. Our system of hatred and punishment for non-violent drug offenses should change.
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