The Garden of Second Chances
- Subject
- Own Voices
- Age
- Teen
- Format
- Trade Paperback
- Pages
- 358
- Publisher
- Sparkpress
- Size
- 13.8 cm × 21.4 cm
- ISBN
- 9781684632046
For fans of Angie Thomas, Tiffany D. Jackson, and Jenny Torres Sanchez
Juana's life has taken a dark turn. Accused of her husband’s death, she's now a seventeen-year-old mother, alone and undocumented in a prison cell. No one believes her when she claims she's innocent, not even the prison staff or the gang leader in her block who torments her relentlessly.
Her only solace is in her baby, but as Juana struggles to survive the dangers lurking in prison, the threat outside grows even more terrifying. Her husband's furious family wants to take the child away.
With no hope in sight, Juana discovers a glimmer of light in a small patch of earth in the prison yard. As she nurtures the plants, memories of her mother's strength and resilience surface, pushing Juana to fight for her freedom and her daughter's future. This is a story of courage, hope, and determination in the face of impossible odds.
Juana's life has taken a dark turn. Accused of her husband’s death, she's now a seventeen-year-old mother, alone and undocumented in a prison cell. No one believes her when she claims she's innocent, not even the prison staff or the gang leader in her block who torments her relentlessly.
Her only solace is in her baby, but as Juana struggles to survive the dangers lurking in prison, the threat outside grows even more terrifying. Her husband's furious family wants to take the child away.
With no hope in sight, Juana discovers a glimmer of light in a small patch of earth in the prison yard. As she nurtures the plants, memories of her mother's strength and resilience surface, pushing Juana to fight for her freedom and her daughter's future. This is a story of courage, hope, and determination in the face of impossible odds.
About the author
Mona Alvarado FrazierAuthor
After decades of working with incarcerated youth and raising three creative kids as a single parent, Mona Alvarado Frazier is now fulfilling her passions of writing and traveling. When not doing either of those she’s reading, volunteering, watching K-dramas, and tending the family’s two cats and her succulent gardens. Mona’s short stories are published in the University of Nevada, Reno anthology Basta! Latinas Against Gender Violence and Palabritas, a Harvard literary journal. She is a member of SCBWI and Macondo Writers and a cofounder of LatinxPitch, a Twitter event. She is a 2021 Mentee of Las Musas Latinx children’s literature collective, and resides in Oxnard, California.
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What reviewers said
2024 International Latino Book Awards: Gold, Best YA Latino-focused Book
2024 International Latino Book Awards: Silver, Most Inspirational YA Book
“An undocumented teenager is charged with manslaughter and works to remake her life in Mona Alvarado Frazier’s searing novel . . . Candid when it comes to relationships, immigration issues, and the harms that young women endure and inflict upon others, The Garden of Second Chances is an affecting novel in which an at-risk youth finds the courage to move past her mistakes.”
“Frazier masterfully limns Juana’s waning hope as she comes to terms with the fact the government that’s locked her away will likely kick her out of the country after she’s released…a persistently tense story… both narratively and emotionally satisfying.”
“Mona Alvarado Frazier is masterful with tension and is able to thread it through every single page. Depictions of life in prison are painfully raw and have an authenticity to them…”
“Exceptionally well written by an author with a genuine flair for the kind of narrative driven storytelling style that keeps a young reader's total attention from first page to last . . . a compelling, original story with a significant message.”
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