Monday, August 15, 2016

All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook by Leslie Connor - ESSENTIAL

Connor, Leslie All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook, 382 pgs. HarperCollins, 2016. $16.99. Language: PG (5 swears, 0 F); Mature Content: G; Violence: G.

Perry Cook’s mother is in prison. So is he, in fact, he’s lived there all his life. Perry lives in the Blue River co-ed Correctional Facility (as a foster child of the Warden) where his mother is serving a 15 year sentence for manslaughter.  He’s almost 12 and starting middle school, and his mother is finally up for parole! But new District Attorney Thomas VanLeer thinks this situation is terrible, and steps in causing all sorts of problems for everyone.  It may even jeopardize his mother’s parole.

This is a moving, emotional and beautiful story.  Perry is a pretty normal kid who has trouble with bullies and doesn’t feel like he fits in, but he is strong, resilient and mature.  A wonderful read, appropriate for both middle school and elementary readers, there’s a good mystery and suspense element that makes this more than your average child in foster care story.

EL, MS - ESSENTIAL  Lisa Librarian

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