Surviving Justice is not so much one integrated story of wrongful conviction and exoneration as it is thirteen completely distinct ones. Thirteen individuals tell their stories in their own words, using their own language and perspectives. They were all given long sentences, or even death. Their convictions were all very serious – murder, rape, child molestation. They were all exonerated, most with the help of the Innocence Project. There were some truly horrific anecdotes (a man arrested for child molestation as he walked to the […]
OK, my second Margaret Atwood book was awesome!
My first exposure to Margaret Atwood was book one in the MaddAddam Trilogy – Oryx and Crake. It was not a rousing success in my eyes. I didn’t quite get it. Aaaanyway, my library’s app had this in ebook form, so it was my second Margaret Atwood book. I loved it. It was my “reading before bed” book, which is hard when it’s a book that I really enjoy. I find myself dozing when I really want to keep reading. So this is another dystopian […]
This is Torture
Best for: People interested in learning more about the real cost of solitary confinement. In a nutshell: A collection of essays about solitary confinement, with the vast majority being authored by those who have actually experienced it. Line that sticks with me: “I could see grass through the window at the end of the hall. When they found out I could see it, they put a plate over it. We are way worse than other countries.” Why I chose it: This was a recommendation from […]
I’m a fountain of blood in the shape of a girl…
Patricia Engel has published two other books, the short story collection Vida and the novel It’s Not Love, It’s Just Paris. Even though I haven’t read either of those books, I felt that I needed to read her new novel, The Veins of the Ocean. Not only because the reviews were intriguing (and very positive) but also because I don’t remember ever reading anything by a Colombian American novelist. The Veins of the Ocean is the story of Reina Castillo. When we first meet Reina […]