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A review by cas_reads_anything
Shackled: A Tale of Wronged Kids, Rogue Judges, and a Town that Looked Away by Candy J. Cooper
4.0
Well-done, well-researched, well-written look at the Cash for Kids scandal out of Pennsylvania, Shackled looks at the case over a decade later to explore how it ever could have happened in the first place and the results.
This is a very approachable book, for non-fiction, and covers a variety of angles around the case. At first, I was a little unsure where the author was going with the coal mining history, and I still think the connection is a little tenuous. The mob history, however, was obviously very relevant. I particularly appreciated the chapters on how the kids were treated within the detention centers and the long-term impacts on them, though I would have preferred that to be expanded on and earlier in the narrative. I also think they were too scattered throughout the text. I appreciate the deep dive into the financial web and found it easy to follow. I loved the inclusion of some more restorative justice models as a comparison as well.
Overall, a great read for anyone interested in the ways in which the justice system can fail those it should be serving.
I recieved a review copy of this book at no charge from the publisher but all opinions are my own.
This is a very approachable book, for non-fiction, and covers a variety of angles around the case. At first, I was a little unsure where the author was going with the coal mining history, and I still think the connection is a little tenuous. The mob history, however, was obviously very relevant. I particularly appreciated the chapters on how the kids were treated within the detention centers and the long-term impacts on them, though I would have preferred that to be expanded on and earlier in the narrative. I also think they were too scattered throughout the text. I appreciate the deep dive into the financial web and found it easy to follow. I loved the inclusion of some more restorative justice models as a comparison as well.
Overall, a great read for anyone interested in the ways in which the justice system can fail those it should be serving.
I recieved a review copy of this book at no charge from the publisher but all opinions are my own.