Welcome to Litsy!

For today‘s #ChannelOpenPod, writer and podcaster Jennifer Baker joins me for a conversation about her debut YA novel, Forgive Me Not!

Topics discussed:
• Writing about serious topics for younger readers
• How different systems of oppression affect her characters
• Finding inspiration in other art forms

Subscribe to Keep the Channel Open in your favorite podcast app, or visit keepthechannelopen.com for full episodes, transcripts, and show notes!

I thought this book worked really well both as a thought experiment about the American carceral system and as a coming-of-age and family story. It was interesting reading it as both someone who believes in prison abolition and who is a parent to teen and tween kids. The story rightly focuses on the kids in the family, but you get a strong feel for their parents and extended family, too. I‘d love to know how this story hits with teen readers.

Next

Forgive Me Not follows fifteen-year-old Violetta who has been incarcerated after her drunk driving killed her younger sister. Young offenders are subject to one of 3 outcomes: forgiveness and return home, a prison sentence, or undergoing Trials while incarcerated to earn forgiveness. “Trials“ were designed to improve upon a broken system, it's evident that the same biases remain: racism, sexism, class and privilege. Well written and heartrending.

I'm about the middle of the road when it comes to this book. I enjoyed it, but at the same time, I don't have any strong feelings about it. I thought it was interesting and had a different perspective on things. But, I didn't care for some of the characters. I didn't really get into the book until around the middle, but by the end, I liked it a bit more. It was differently different from what I usually read, so mixing it up was nice.

This story was unique and very interesting. It felt dystopian but was realistic at the same time. I love Divergent and Hunger Games, and the reading about the Trials of Forgive Me Not gave me similar feels.