Book Review: Juvie Talk: Unlocking the Language of Juvenile Justice [JJIE.org]

“Juvie Talk” is a visual diary of juvenile justice, taking the reader on a journey to meet young people across the country who share their stories with a startling and refreshing open and honest dialogue. They speak of their parents, their siblings, their foster homes, their struggles and experiences, often with violence, abuse and drugs. They speak of their ambitions, their schooling, their incarceration and their hope of freedom.

Through photojournalism and free-verse narrative, the author slowly unravels our preconceptions and takes the judgment out of the sails of our objections. We are challenged to take a second look, to listen more closely and reflect on the boundless human potential behind bars.

Each page is a window into the physical space of incarceration and the emotional reality of confinement. The book is unique in the way it allows the reader to learn from and listen to children as young as 12 in their own language about how they perceive their incarceration and sentence and the forces of trauma, poverty, violence, criminalization and lack of opportunity that led them from their home to a prison cell so early in life. With more than 1,000 interviews, Richard Ross discovers or confirms the isolation and resignation at the heart of these stories.

As the third book in the “In Justice” series, the book and accompanying website are designed for educators — middle and high school teachers — and their students to reflect on juveniles (in) justice and learn more about human rights, mass incarceration and the potential for children to succeed.

[For more of this story, written by Aiasha Khalid, go to http://jjie.org/2017/02/07/boo...of-juvenile-justice/]