Inmate's Daughter Book

On the first day of summer vacation between seventh and eighth grade, Jenna MacDonald does the dumbest thing ever. She jumps from the McNeil Island boat dock into the water to save a little girl from drowning. McNeil Island is a prison in the middle of Puget Sound. It's where Jenna's dad lives, and she is there with her mother, brother, and grandparents for a visit.

Her dad was recently transferred to the island, and Jenna, her mother and brother transferred too, to live with Jenna's grandparents. Jenna has been trying to join The Snoops, her school's in-group. They're racially mixed. She's part Native American. Though they're really looking for an Hispanic, they are evaluating her.

Jenna isn't permitted to tell her new friends that her dad is in prison. It's her mother's rule. Prison reflects on wives and children. Keeping the fact of prison secret becomes more difficult when the newspaper runs a story about a Good Samaritan rescue at the McNeil Island Corrections Center. No names are mentioned, but Jenna's mother is furious. Jenna stays out of her mother's way, and collects the news clippings about the incident. She writes in her journal about her wish to tell the truth.

Just as Jenna is forming a friendship with one of The Snoops, another learns about her dad and prison by snooping in Jenna's room. The group leaders vote to exclude Jenna, but the forming friendship survives, and a new one begins when the former boyfriend of a Snoops leader reveals his real dad is in prison too.

An Inmate's Daughter is a fictional account of the reality faced by over 2 million American children with a parent in prison or jail. The children are doing time too.

Heather Rader - KLIATT

Jenna MacDonald is a normal 13-year-old girl at Howard Middle School--with a big secret. Her dad is doing time for murder at McNeil Island Prison. He has a degree in psychology, wood carving talents, and Indian heritage, and Jenna is proud of who he is, but is ashamed of where he is. Her mother Lynn is a woman who believes everyone judges the worst and misses the best. She has imposed a "don't tell" rule that leaves Jenna struggling to be honest with new friends and find the freedom she is searching for. An incident on visiting day at the prison ignites a chain of events: Jenna saves a little girl who falls off the dock, but it ultimately exposes her secret. There is a sub-story that deals with racial tension in middle school and explores the topics of gangs. I don't know how much of the dialog will ring true for students reading this, but the topics are important and timely. For younger YAs who have parents in prison, this book brings to light the reality that kids do time too. KLIATT Codes: J--Recommended for junior high school students. 2006, Raven (11 Cherry Creek Rd., PO Box 2885, Norris MT 59745), 171p. illus., $9.00.. Ages 12 to 15.