Tuesday 24 January 2012

PRISON NATION...a review!



Last week I finished reading Jenni Merritt's debut novel, PRISON NATION, and I have to say it has the makings of a great "beginning" - the way it ended, while kind of low-key, was also vaguely epic, or rather it spoke of much epicness to come. I suppose PRISON NATION could be seen almost as a drawn out prequel to what might come next. I definitely think there should be a sequel (and Jenni assures me she plans to write one eventually. Yay!!). To briefly recap the story, main character Millie 942B is a "Jail Baby", born into a huge prison where her parents were sentenced for life. Millie's about to turn 18, and upon her birthday will be set free into the Nation beyond the prison walls to start a life of work as a proud, hard-working citizen. Only there's a lot she doesn't know about the Nation she's been taught (a.k.a. a wee bit brainwashed) to love without question. After her release, she starts to learn truths that have heretofore only been hinted at: truths about her own parents' histories, and about some of the so-called criminals she shared her living space with for her first 18 years.

One criticism I had of the story was that, sometimes, it seemed that Millie's release from prison took too long to arrive. I mentioned in my GoodReads (spoilery) review that there were certainly moments prior to her release that we needed to read about, because they painted a picture of Millie's life in prison and also prepared us for future parts of her story to unfold. Also, there was definite tension in the air which never really left even after Millie was released. Still, sometimes I felt like the "daily mundane" details of prison routine could possibly have been condensed a little, and sometimes seemed to draw away some of that tension.

After Millie left the prison, her life seemed to be going in a positive direction, but there was always an underlying threat that not everything was as it seemed, or that big bad ugly truths were still waiting to be uncovered. I definitely found that the last 100 pages really picked up the action. But the story ended on an "OMG, what next?" note, which is why I'm now waiting for a sequel! All in all, this story has the makings of being completely epic, and I will definitely read a sequel when it arrives. But I'd hope to see events unfold in a more fast-paced and tense way with any future installment. Of course, sometimes you need "down time" here and there, to give your poor heart a rest, but fast-paced and gripping is generally what compells me to devour an entire book in less than a day.

In summation, Jenni's debut shows a lot of promise and I can't wait to see what she does next!

25 comments:

  1. I haven't heard of this book. Thanks for the recommendation :)

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  2. This one is new to me. Sounds good. Thanks for the review.

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  3. I'd like to read this one. One of my future novel ideas has some connections to this, but it takes a really different slant. Thanks for the review!

    ~Debbie

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  4. This is the first I've heard of Prison Nation. I'm all right with slow starts, so long as the ending knocks my socks off.
    Thanks for the referral!

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  5. Good review. I like to read books that take me on a ride as well and then there are those that are slow and savory... reading is great!

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  6. Ooh, interesting. I'll have to keep an eye out for this one. Thanks for sharing.

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  7. Goodness - this sounds really interesting! What a neat idea for a book! Definitely something I would like to read. Thanks for the review, and I hope she'll do a sequel too! *Yeah - I haven't read it yet, but obviously there needs to be more!* I love that!

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  8. I think the story concept is excellent.

    Lee
    Video memoir
    Wrote By Rote

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  9. A cool story concept. Sounds interesting.

    .......dhole

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  10. Sounds like an interesting premise. What would it be like to grow up in a prison? I might wait until the sequel before reading the first though.

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  11. Probably a wise idea, Clarissa! :) I never seem to be that wise. haha

    There's one third book in a series I've been waiting for since 2003 :(

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  12. I like the premise. It's great to meet debut authors. Thanks for sharing.

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  13. Thanks for the review~ Jenni's great!

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  14. I love Prison Nation - I agree it would have moved faster if she had included less detail in the prison, but I honestly loved all that detail. It drew me into her world in a way that I may not have been if she gave less detail. I too look forward to the sequel :)

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  15. This sounds like an interesting read. Thanks for the review. I'll keep an eye out for this one.

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  16. What a cool concept! I hadn't heard of this or Jenni, so thanks for the intro, Trisha!

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  17. I just realised I had forgotten to link to Jenni's blog! I've remedied that now! ;)

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  18. Good review. I'm always interested in reading reviews. They can be very insightful. Thanks.

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  19. Sounds like an interesting concept, being raised in a prison and then being "set free" into the world.

    Thank you so much for voting for and adding GUARDIAN on Goodreads!

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  20. Jenni's book! Awesome! Thanks for telling us more about it. :)

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  21. Sounds like a way interesting premise . . .

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  22. Interesting concept. Thanks for the review Trisha and much luck to the author on her debut book :)

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  23. Thanks for the review! It sounds like an intriguing book.

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Thanks for your words, me hearties! and don't forget to leave a link to your blog somewhere I can find it!