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Title details for Children of the State by Jeff Hobbs - Available

Children of the State

Stories of Survival and Hope in the Juvenile Justice System

by Jeff Hobbs
George Newbern
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
From the bestselling and critically acclaimed author of The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace comes "an eye-opening, fully humanizing, deeply affecting look at the often-misunderstood juvenile justice system and its inhabitants—young people of earnestness, disappointment, hope, and resilience" (Booklist, starred review).
For many kids, a mistake made at age thirteen or fourteen—often resulting from external factors coupled with a biologically immature brain—can resonate through the rest of their lives, making high school difficult, college nearly impossible, and a middle-class life a mere fantasy. In Children of the State, Jeff Hobbs challenges any preconceived perceptions about how the juvenile justice system works—and demonstrates in brilliant, piercing prose: No one so young should ever be considered irredeemable.

Writing with great heart and sensitivity, Hobbs "offers finely wrought portraits of the teenagers in juvenile hall, as well as the educators and counselors trying to help them find safe passage back to—and through—the real world" (Los Angeles Times). While serving a year-long detention in Wilmington, Delaware, a bright young man considers both the benefits and the immense costs of striving for college acceptance while imprisoned. A career juvenile hall English Language Arts teacher struggles to align the small moments of wonder in her work alongside its statistical futility. A territorial fistfight in Paterson, New Jersey, is called a hate crime by the media and the boy held accountable seeks redemption and friendship in a demanding Life & Professional Skills class in lower Manhattan. Through these stories, Hobbs creates intimate portraits of these individuals as they struggle to make good decisions amidst the challenges of overcoming their pasts, and also asks: What should society do with young people who have made terrible mistakes?

"At turns touching and intimate, enraging and honest" (Matthew Desmond), Children of the State masterfully blends personal stories with larger questions about race, class, prison reform, justice, and even about the concept of "fate."

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    January 24, 2023

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781797149196
      • File size: 365901 KB
      • Duration: 12:42:17

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      October 10, 2022
      Bestseller Hobbs (Show Them You’re Good) offers a gripping and harrowing study of the American juvenile justice system. Contending that “deep histories of neglect, trauma, hunger, abuse, addiction, loss, isolation” bring children into the system, Hobbs documents the yearlong incarceration of Josiah Wright, who “witnessed three deaths, two of them murders,” before he was 18 and was arrested for property destruction and assault. Placed in Delaware’s only youth residential detention facility, where he “would need to control anger and frustration and shame, though he had no training to do so,” Josiah struggled with his self-confidence and sometimes felt like “a just-lit firecracker that might or might not go off.” With the help of a school counselor, he obtained a lacrosse scholarship to a New York State community college, but dropped out after a few weeks. Hobbs also explains how the idea that kids are “too narcissistic to feel authentic regret” affects the youth incarceration system, and profiles activists and educators who are trying to reform it. A section on Exalt Youth, “a nonprofit with a focus on transition and reentry for kids embroiled in the justice system,” provides glimmers of hope and hard reminders of the steep challenges youthful offenders face. Deeply researched and fluidly written, this is a searing portrait of an ongoing tragedy.

    • Library Journal

      June 10, 2024

      Hobbs (The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace) examines the overwhelming scale of the modern juvenile justice system and the stories of individuals impacted by it. The audio effectively employs an ensemble of narrators, reinforcing the perception of each section as a unique piece of a vast puzzle. Landon Woodson narrates the first section, the story of Josiah Wright, a resident of a youth detention center in Wilmington, DE. Woodson precisely captures the tones of a group of boys posturing as tough, while yearning for understanding. Aven Shore brings gentleness mixed with exhaustion to the second section, featuring the teachers and principal of the Woodside Learning Center in San Francisco. Though the research was conducted amid the 2020 COVID lockdowns, the strain of teaching incarcerated youth is especially evident here. Andre Bellido picks up the baton with measured dispassion in the final section, which describes the struggles of Ian Alvaro to adapt to the crisis intervention program in New York City that's keeping him out of youth detention. George Newbern's steady timbre provides bookends in the author's note and epilogue. VERDICT An affecting listen, recommended for readers of Bryan Stevenson's Just Mercy.--Natalie Marshall

      Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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