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potatomcgee's review against another edition
5.0
This is a very powerful collection of images. It is disturbing on both sides - the crimes these kids have committed and also the way they are treated in many cases. There was only one institution mentioned in the book that seemed to have the right idea by encouraging manners, kindness, and a general sense of respect. It is clear that we need to look at these institutions. The images were beautiful and very effective in their message. A fascinating look at a group of people who rarely get attention or respect.
trixie_reads's review against another edition
5.0
This floored me: "...it costs, on average, $88000 per year to incarcerate a single youth in a juvenile correctional facility. By comparison, a four-year public university costs less than $8000 a year."
That cost is a little out of date, but you could go to college full time and live on campus for four years for $88000! What a lot of money we waste housing kids in prison for minor infractions when we could be educating them instead.
That cost is a little out of date, but you could go to college full time and live on campus for four years for $88000! What a lot of money we waste housing kids in prison for minor infractions when we could be educating them instead.
teenytinylibrary's review against another edition
4.0
BAM! This book is a punch in the face to anyone who has worked with teens and who cares about teens. Richard Ross does an amazing job of profiling tons of teenagers who are locked up in some sort of juvenile detention facility - he gets them to tell him their stories: why they're incarcerated, what their life was life before, what their life is like now, what they want. I agree with Ira Glass, in the foreword, when he says that the pictures are especially haunting because you can't see the teens' faces. I can see the long skinny legs and think, "That could be any one of my speech kids." The statistics are also mind-blowing. Any kid who is locked up, regardless of the amount of time, is exponentially more like to commit another crime and return to detention. This is a must read for anyone who works with teens, especially troubled teens. I'm looking at you, all my teacher friends.
renatasnacks's review against another edition
5.0
What a powerful, important book. Having read it, I'm very happy it won an Alex Award last year.
I enjoyed Ira Glass's forward but even more than that I enjoyed Bart Lubow's preface calling out Ira Glass's forward for focusing on violent teen offenders when so many teens in the American juvenile justice system are NOT there for violent crimes but rather for stupid bullshit. (OK that's not exactly what he said.)
Richard Ross's photographs of teens in juvenile detention centers and of the centers themselves are very powerful, as are the brief statements collected from teens and the few carefully chosen statistics/quotes that are pulled out onto blank text pages between the photos.
"'What percentage of girls have been sexually abused when they come here?' 'What percentage? Every one. All 88 girls in our custody.'"
"Black youth are 9 times as likely to be sentenced to adult prisons as white youth."
"Children as young as 11 have been sentenced to life without the possibility of parole."
Very well done and effective. Highly recommended for teens and adults. Definitely recommended for libraries to purchase for their collections--I had trouble ordering it here but fought for it based on its subject matter and its Alex Award, and I'm glad I did.
I enjoyed Ira Glass's forward but even more than that I enjoyed Bart Lubow's preface calling out Ira Glass's forward for focusing on violent teen offenders when so many teens in the American juvenile justice system are NOT there for violent crimes but rather for stupid bullshit. (OK that's not exactly what he said.)
Richard Ross's photographs of teens in juvenile detention centers and of the centers themselves are very powerful, as are the brief statements collected from teens and the few carefully chosen statistics/quotes that are pulled out onto blank text pages between the photos.
"'What percentage of girls have been sexually abused when they come here?' 'What percentage? Every one. All 88 girls in our custody.'"
"Black youth are 9 times as likely to be sentenced to adult prisons as white youth."
"Children as young as 11 have been sentenced to life without the possibility of parole."
Very well done and effective. Highly recommended for teens and adults. Definitely recommended for libraries to purchase for their collections--I had trouble ordering it here but fought for it based on its subject matter and its Alex Award, and I'm glad I did.
bookbrig's review
informative
medium-paced
5.0
This is an amazing resource. Really well done photographs, great layout, lots of statistics and data presented accessibly.
Also, really hard to read. You should pair it with No Choirboy: Murder, Violence, and Teenagers on Death Row for a period of reading really good and simultaneously awful information about juvenile justice.
Also, really hard to read. You should pair it with No Choirboy: Murder, Violence, and Teenagers on Death Row for a period of reading really good and simultaneously awful information about juvenile justice.
faye_okay's review against another edition
5.0
Heartbreaking, illuminating and beyond important look at a slice of our society that seems entirely foreign to most, but ignored by many who are aware of it.
Deeply personal to me. An expanded look at what many families such as my own have had a small glimpse into, but could never fully understand. My older brother's adolescence mirrored so many of the accounts documented in this work. Behavior and mental problems that escalated as he got older eventually turning into stays at juvenile facilities across the midwest. Sometimes charged, sometimes not; but always with the supposition that it was the answer. With hindsight now at our disposal, it obvious that it wasn't for the right course of action and may have caused more harm than good. His life isn't a miracle story of triumph over his trouble, he will always struggle not only with his own psyche but with his lack of socialization that comes from so much of his formative years spent locked up.
But he is one of the lucky ones, unlike so many of the kids documented, he's out of the system (for now), and more importantly, hasn't succumbed to the tragic end that befall many through suicide, violence and addiction.
Deeply personal to me. An expanded look at what many families such as my own have had a small glimpse into, but could never fully understand. My older brother's adolescence mirrored so many of the accounts documented in this work. Behavior and mental problems that escalated as he got older eventually turning into stays at juvenile facilities across the midwest. Sometimes charged, sometimes not; but always with the supposition that it was the answer. With hindsight now at our disposal, it obvious that it wasn't for the right course of action and may have caused more harm than good. His life isn't a miracle story of triumph over his trouble, he will always struggle not only with his own psyche but with his lack of socialization that comes from so much of his formative years spent locked up.
But he is one of the lucky ones, unlike so many of the kids documented, he's out of the system (for now), and more importantly, hasn't succumbed to the tragic end that befall many through suicide, violence and addiction.
ateague73's review
5.0
This book is heartbreaking. I know it's almost 10 years old, but it's been 20 years since I worked in juvenile justice. It didn't change much in that time.
luaucow's review
5.0
A sad, but illuminating portrayal of the juvenile justice system. This books make you think and consider just what our current system is actually achieving.
andizor's review
4.0
BAM! This book is a punch in the face to anyone who has worked with teens and who cares about teens. Richard Ross does an amazing job of profiling tons of teenagers who are locked up in some sort of juvenile detention facility - he gets them to tell him their stories: why they're incarcerated, what their life was life before, what their life is like now, what they want. I agree with Ira Glass, in the foreword, when he says that the pictures are especially haunting because you can't see the teens' faces. I can see the long skinny legs and think, "That could be any one of my speech kids." The statistics are also mind-blowing. Any kid who is locked up, regardless of the amount of time, is exponentially more like to commit another crime and return to detention. This is a must read for anyone who works with teens, especially troubled teens. I'm looking at you, all my teacher friends.
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