Hi everyone, welcome to this first week’s review post for June!! The tween title I’ve got lined up for you this week is one I read some time ago that packed a punch and a half!! Fans of Auggie Pullman from Wonder will find a kindred spirit in our protagonist, Perry T. Cook. Are you ready to meet him??
Title: All rise for the Honorable Perry T.Cook
Author: Leslie Connor
Genre: Fiction – contemporary
Publication details: Katherine Tegen Books; NY, 2016
ISBN: 9780062333469 (Hardcover)
What this book is about: Eleven-year-old Perry T. Cook was born and raised at the Blue River Co-ed Correctional Facility in tiny Surprise, Nebraska. His mom is a resident on Cell Block C. So far, Warden Daugherty has made it possible for them to be together. Anyone who knows about the arrangement is quietly okay with it. But when Perry is discovered by the new, ambitious district attorney, Thomas VanLeer, everything changes. Forced to foster with the VanLeer family, Perry lives on “the outside” but feels trapped. His mom’s parole hearing is just weeks away, but the rule bending that allowed Perry to stay with her could mean she’ll get more prison time. Desperate to be reunited with his mom, Perry goes on a quest to learn the whole truth behind their Blue River story. But will the facts help them or haunt them? Can he find a way to tell everyone what home truly means?
My review: What an emotional and poignant story this was!! Leslie Connor has created a deeply moving story with a courageous young tween in Perry T. Cook. I just loved the characters, the story, and the insatiable spirit of young Perry and his friends, both “inside” and “outside”. I had heard of female inmates who had kids but this is the first children’s book I’ve read on this topic. Fans of Wonder, Fish in a tree, and Counting by 7’s, will truly enjoy this amazing read!! Be warned folks, you will all need tissues at the end!!
My rating: 5 ⭐
Additional notes: This title has been nominated for the Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Book Award and The Magnolia Award Grades 3 to 5 in 2018, and the Goodreads Choice Award for Middle Grade and Children’s Fiction in 2016.
Stay safe and keep reading
Miss Mahee
Miss Mahee's Library of Reads 