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zinelib's review
challenging
emotional
informative
medium-paced
4.5
Keri Blakinger's narrative goes back and forth between her arrival in jail and the experiences that brought her there. She was arrested with heroin, and her case got more attention than most because Blakinger had been a competitive figure skater as a teen, and was a Cornell student at the time of her bust.
Blakinger's story, in and out of prison is bleak, but as she narrates it in the audiobook isn't so harsh that it's impossible to take in. Her voice is blunt and youthful. She's done some things and seen some things and doesn't shy away from them. She is candid about the race and class privileges that make her story different from those of many of her fellow incarcerees. Now that she is out of prison, her journalism beat is Texas prisons, so she's giving back (and taking names).
Blakinger's story, in and out of prison is bleak, but as she narrates it in the audiobook isn't so harsh that it's impossible to take in. Her voice is blunt and youthful. She's done some things and seen some things and doesn't shy away from them. She is candid about the race and class privileges that make her story different from those of many of her fellow incarcerees. Now that she is out of prison, her journalism beat is Texas prisons, so she's giving back (and taking names).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use and Sexual assault
mkesten's review against another edition
4.0
I like to think of Keri Blakinger’s prison memoir as the inverse of Tara Westover’s Educated. Instead of getting educated, the book is about a very gifted young woman becoming “uneducated” and pushing down to the lowest rungs of society before getting her “holy shit” moment.
It is a good, swift read.
I don’t usually like to help crooks make money from their list of “greatest hits” but Blakinger does a little more good than ill and deserves a look.
It is a good, swift read.
I don’t usually like to help crooks make money from their list of “greatest hits” but Blakinger does a little more good than ill and deserves a look.
creativerunnings's review against another edition
4.0
A riveting memoir about a successful girl who's an Olympic hopeful figure skater with an eating disorder and drug abuse. She grows into a Cornell student who goes to jail for almost two years. The memoir ends with her after prison in a successful writing career and a Cornell degree.
vireogirl's review against another edition
4.0
Harsh, hard story but it does get better toward the end. A revealing look at what our prison system is. A fair amount of language and graphic situations, but I don’t think you can write a memoir like this without it.
maireo's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
maxthefish's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
I feel like every book I actually finish is 4-5 stars but this one definitely deserves it. The book is a memoir written by an ex felon that details her horrific experiences in the prison system, mixed with hope from her future and trauma in her past. She also carefully weaves in the acknowledgment of privilege in the prison system and the changes that need to be made.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Drug use, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Alcohol, Racism, Adult/minor relationship, Torture, Alcoholism, and Bullying
Minor: Car accident, Animal death, and War
gfrisch's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Sexual violence, Mental illness, Confinement, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, and Self harm