Thank you for the opportunities to read this book. I have attempted it on a number of occasions but unfortunately I haven’t been able to get into it.

Sub-titled ‘how American juvenile justice lost its way’ this book may not, on one hand, add much new basic knowledge to anyone who follows the news, but boy does it dig deep and bring a lot of troubling, alarming and possibly distasteful information to the fore.

Even many who favour ‘proper justice’ and a punishment fitting the crime may struggle to advocate the American system, where legal-age ‘children’ can still be imprisoned for life for a crime, however serious it may be. Adolescent (non-adult) offenders can ofen be transferred out of juvenile court to an adult court and then tried and sentenced as adults. Each year over a million juveniles are arrested and about one-quarter of cases are processed in an adult court. What is more, upon conviction they can be housed in adult prisons, held frequently in solitary confinement, and it may not be coincidental that they face some of the highest rate of sexual and physical assaults of all prisoners.

Is that not shocking enough? In some states, even children as young as six can be transferred into adult court without any judicial oversight. At least something has got better: until 2005 children could face the death penalty for their crimes.

The author keeps a calm, objective tone to what can otherwise be a very emotive, personal subject. Certainly, with my western European mindset, what seems to go on generally in the United States with its ‘justice system’ seems alien. The book gives a great mix of historical context and current day developments, touching on legal and political moves that are ongoing to possibly effect (someday) change. Research with offenders has also been undertaken to add real-world colour to the mix.

It may be a deep, challenging read but a worthy one. You can skip over some of the detail if necessary without losing the core thread of the book. As you may expect from a OUP title it is well-referenced. It manages to balance the needs of a more specialist academic reader and those of a more interested generalist. The author is clear as to their motives, with the book intending to ‘…shine a light on the brutal reality of children in our criminal justice system and to inspire its readers to pursue reform efforts that are so desperately needed.’

It certainly does what it sets out to do and thus can be recommended reading. It may open your eyes, it may sadden you, it may generate anger. You may be powerless, even if you are a U.S. citizen, but at least you can then try and lobby for change.

The War on Kids, written by Cara H. Drinan and published by Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780190605551. YYYYY

This had such huge potential- there is a real commercial space for a politically charged expose on American youth justice, especially in shops like mine. Surely the success of Piers Morgan's Women who Kill shows this. The book has an outstanding cover, strong title and blurb but the content is too academic for them. By far the most frustrating feature is the repetition and the near constant references to "the previous chapter", "in chapter 6", "as previously argued " etc that is very disruptive to the narrative flow. The most rewarding chapters feature case studies and how they led to law changes. There seems a disconnect between the book and marketing.