Published in 2016, I somehow missed this treasure. Author Leslie Connor explores something I never would have thought about. Perry T. Cook was born in a minimum-security prison. His mother was incarcerated when she learned she was pregnant. With the help of a sympathetic warden, Perry ends up living with his mother for eleven years.
The warden acting as a sort of foster parent, creates a nursery in a small unused room that later becomes Perry's room. He gets to see his mother every day and many of the other residents become like family as he grows up. Perry attends school in a nearby town where he is best friends with a girl named Zoe. Zoe and several other people on the outside know Perry's story, but he tries to keep it fairly quiet.
Trouble starts when the local district attorney learns about Perry and decides living in a prison is not the life a kid should have. When Perry is told he will have to leave the only home he's ever known, he is devastated.
Author Leslie Connor takes readers into life at the prison and the lives and mistakes made by those who have been sentenced to time behind bars. When Perry decides to interview some of the residents for a school project, readers learn why some of them have been given prison time. Perry is able to reveal that life may be different for some people, but everyone has something to offer.
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