No Choirboy

Starred review from September 1, 2008
Gr 9 Up-Kuklin tells five stories here; four are about young men who committed murder before they reached the age of 18, and one is the story of a victim's family. Each narrative presents a picture of a troubled youth who did something he later regretted, but something that could not be undone. Within these deftly painted portraits, readers also see individuals who have grown beyond the adolescents who committed the crimes. They see compassion, remorse, and lives wasted within the penal system. Some of the stories tell of poverty and life on the streets, but others are stories of young men with strong, loving families. One even asks readers not to blame his family for his act of violence. Most of the book is written in the words of the men Kuklin interviewed. Their views are compelling; they are our neighbors, our nephews, our friends' children, familiar in many ways, but unknowable in others. Kuklin depicts the penal system as biased against men of color, and any set of statistics about incarceration and death-row conviction rates will back her up. She also emphasizes that being poor is damning once a crime is committed. She finally introduces Bryan Stevenson, a lawyer who has worked on the cases of two of the interviewees, who talks about his efforts to help those who are on death row. This powerful book should be explored and discussed in high schools all across our country."Wendy Smith-D'Arezzo, Loyola College, Baltimore, MD"

Copyright 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2008
In previous books for youth, Kuklin has explored harrowing topics such as AIDS (Fighting Back: What Some People Are Doing about AIDS, 1988) and child slavery (Iqbal Masih and the Crusaders against Child Slavery, 1998). Her latest title, about individuals who received death-row sentences while they were teenagers, is another direct, compassionate, and eye-opening inquiry. The prisoners words, drawn from Kuklins interview transcripts, form the bulk of the narratives, but Kuklins voice frequently cuts in with details about the events leading up to the alleged crime, legal issues, and the prisoners backgrounds. Some chapters also include commentary from the prisoners lawyers and the prisoners own writing (one, Nanon Williams, is a published author). The mix of voicesmakes for asomewhat chaotic but riveting whole that combines powerfully withthe occasional photos and hand-drawn portraits of the subjects. Kuklin presents, with signature frankness, the mens memories of their young lives; the murders, for which some claim innocence; and the brutal realities (including rape and other acts of extreme violence) of incarcerated life, first on death row and then in maximum-security prison, where most of the prisoners are now held. In unforgettable later chapters, families of prisoners and victims both speak about their grief and loss, and the closing section focuses on a world-renowned antideath penalty attorney. This isnt a balanced overview of capital punishment. Instead, it is a searing and provocative account that will touch teens most fundamental beliefs and questions about violence, punishment, our legal and prison systems, and human rights. An authors note and extensive resources conclude. See the adjacent Story behind the Story feature, Life on Death Row, for Kuklins comments about the project.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2009
The book opens with candid interviews introducing three inmates, all teenagers when they committed crimes. Next we meet family members of victims and inmates, then an anti-death penalty attorney. These profiles paint an unrelenting picture of the prison system, putting human faces on the issue and arguing that punishment often has as much to do with race and class as with justice. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind.

(Copyright 2009 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from July 1, 2008
"Are you the sum total of your worst acts?" asks Bryan Stevenson, an anti-death penalty attorney, in the epigraph. The book opens with candid interviews that introduce three inmates, all of them teenagers when they committed their crimes. Next we meet family members of victims and inmates to see how these crimes and sentences affect them, and finally return to Stevenson again to learn about his advocacy efforts. These profiles paint an unrelentingly cruel picture of the prison system and capital punishment, and while the book is neither comprehensive nor balanced in its treatment of the issues, it is remarkably successful at putting human faces on them, while raising the point that punishment often has as much to do with race, class, prejudice, and compromise as it does with justice. This eye-opening account will likely open minds and hearts, too, and would serve as a good nonfiction read-alike companion for Walter Dean Myers's Monster. The book concludes with solid back matter -- notes, glossary, bibliography, and index.

(Copyright 2008 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)