THE GARDEN OF SECOND CHANCES
𝙼𝚘𝚗𝚊 𝙰𝚕𝚟𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚍𝚘 𝙵𝚛𝚊𝚣𝚒𝚎𝚛
Out now!

🌻𝚂𝚢𝚗𝚘𝚙𝚜𝚒𝚜 & 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:
Juana Flores Ivanov is 17 years old and she’s on her way to prison. She’s been convicted in the death of her husband. No one believes her when she says she didn’t kill him, but instead she ran to protect herself and her baby girl. Instead now she’s in prison where she battles both the  staff and gang members. Not only does she have these problems, but she’s also undocumented and her mother-in-law is fighting for custody of her daughter. In an attempt to avoid conflict and to stay calm she starts a garden in the prison yard. With this garden she reminds herself and helps her new friends to remember what is important and how to care for themselves. 

This was sometimes a difficult read. It is harsh, but the reality of life for these girls. Mona Alvarado Frazier worked with incarcerated youth and took that knowledge to create this story. It is labeled YA but it definitely reads as adult. Check CW. I found some of it to be repetitive and perhaps could have benefited from a map or illustrations to get a better understanding of the inner workings of the prison. There was also a good bit of Spanish/Mexican slang and while the glossary in the front of the book was very helpful, maybe I’m spoiled by kindle and being able to just tap on the word to see its meaning but with a heavy use of the language perhaps definitions at the bottom of the page would’ve been better served. Overall I enjoyed reading this book and thank Indie Spines for opening this new perspective up to me.

💜𝚁𝙸𝚈𝙻:
Prison stories
Youth in crisis 
Redemption arcs 
Multicultural stories


Thank you @indiespinesbookclub for my gifted copy and for including me in this month’s book club discussion. 
These thoughts are my own.