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Prison Nation Jenni Merritt 9781467929288 Books

Download As PDF : Prison Nation Jenni Merritt 9781467929288 Books

Prison Nation Jenni Merritt 9781467929288 Books

This is harder to review than things usually are. I wish I could have two criteria - one for the plot line (which I'd give 4 or 5 stars - it's a refreshing new take on the dystopian society) and one for the plot execution (which would get 2).

Millie is a young adult who has grown up inside a state prison, condemned there for 18 years with her parents while still unborn and is now facing entrance into the outside "free" world. This is dystopian society at it's most gritty. The problem is that after that rock solid introduction, the plot becomes very fuzzy. There are logical leaps that left me scratching my head, and too many strong coincidences to swallow. The conclusion was a sudden, frenzied jolt and I was left feeling like I'd just been dropped on my head.

I think it's a great first novella, if indeed it's the author's first, and I'm slightly sad she didn't start with something else and hold this in reserve to be a better book once she had more experience and a better editor under her belt.


Tags : Prison Nation [Jenni Merritt] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. In the Nation, no one is innocent -- not even the children born behind bars. Millie 942B has spent her entire life locked away with her criminal parents and countless other inmates. She believes in the Nation,Jenni Merritt,Prison Nation,CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform,146792928X,Fantasy - General,Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9),FICTION General,Fiction - General,General,Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945),YOUNG ADULT FICTION,Young Adult Fiction Fantasy General,JUVENILE FICTION Fantasy & Magic

Prison Nation Jenni Merritt 9781467929288 Books Reviews

I began this book with hope. I thought the premise was interesting and unique. So much could be done with this. I finished it and was disappointed, both with the writing and the plot. Where to begin?

The heroine of a dystopian novel requires spunk, will, desire. Millie simply existed in the drab routine of her day. Even her vaguely defined wish to toe the line so she would get paroled was wishy-washy and hardly enough to propel her. She had little motivation that I could find. She was a bland heroine, without any of the fire one expects. I kept reading anyway, on general principles. But there was nothing to expect with her.

The remainder of the story fizzled. There was no life to life outside bars. I cringed at the stereotyping of Mexicans, and felt cheated when nothing was written about what the world was like beyond the prison. Yes, trees and apples and fires are interesting to Millie. Boring! A brief mention would have sufficed.

The escape to freedom was predictable and took a long time to come. There were too many coincidences and unbelievable outcomes to an unplanned, last minute break from the Nation. It is understandable that an author wants to tie up loose ends, but really? Reed's father? The ending just sat there, asking for a sequel. One can only hope that a sequel would get more into the workings of the world and how to survive and actually live.

Last but not least was the writing. I quote "I let my eyes look back at my parents." "I could see her eyes cringe, her breath gasp as she let her fingers drop to the counter." I can't enumerate the number of times a "tear broke free from my eye." Seriously. There was a very limited range of description. Millie spends much of the novel with "tears stinging my eyes." Over and over again. She gasps and cringes and stings in almost every scene. This writing is amateurish and detracted mightily from the story. What story there was. There could have been so much more, and certainly, some serious editing would help.

I'm giving this book two stars instead of one if only for the creative idea it was. I'm glad it was a freebie for me because it's a shame more wasn't made of something so interesting.
The basic idea was a good one. I've thought about a similar theme for years, just never could figure out where to take it beyond the initial circumstances. Now I know where I wouldn't take it. That being said, I do applaud the effort that went into this, which is where the two stars came from. Where the other three stars went

Millie's "fogs". At first, I thought maybe they were a result of the "vitamin" she was given daily. But, after she's released, no more "vitamin" but still a moment of "fog." So, what is it? Is she disturbed, like her mother? If so, why would she have been considered a success and allowed to leave the prison.

Millie's not knowing her parents' crimes until right before she's released. Can't believe that she never once in eighteen years asked what they were accused of to become lifers.

Millie never heard the phrase "prison nation" until just as she was being released. If it was such a common disparaging phrase, I would have thought she would have heard it at least a few times while actually IN the prison.

After Millie was released, the book pretty much dived into nothingness. Very little that was new and exciting. While I did not expect life outside the prison to be that much different than it was inside, based on the title, I did expect it to be different enough that it would be noticeable, which it didn't seem to be, other than being able to wear different clothing and eat at a restaurant.

The escape from the nation seemed completely implausible to me. That the bracelet had a tracking device in it was a given. That it took so long for her to be tracked, doubtful. Then, once they're outside the wall, to just turn around and go back with no game plan of any kind, knowing that they can't do anything. Even if Millie was naive enough to not realize the foolishness of it, Reed should have had a clue.
This is harder to review than things usually are. I wish I could have two criteria - one for the plot line (which I'd give 4 or 5 stars - it's a refreshing new take on the dystopian society) and one for the plot execution (which would get 2).

Millie is a young adult who has grown up inside a state prison, condemned there for 18 years with her parents while still unborn and is now facing entrance into the outside "free" world. This is dystopian society at it's most gritty. The problem is that after that rock solid introduction, the plot becomes very fuzzy. There are logical leaps that left me scratching my head, and too many strong coincidences to swallow. The conclusion was a sudden, frenzied jolt and I was left feeling like I'd just been dropped on my head.

I think it's a great first novella, if indeed it's the author's first, and I'm slightly sad she didn't start with something else and hold this in reserve to be a better book once she had more experience and a better editor under her belt.