An Inmate’s Daughter

Jan Walker
Raven Publishing, Inc. (2006)
ISBN 0971416192
Reviewed by Natalie Novakowski (age 9) for Reader Views (4/07)

This is a good story. Sometimes it is sad but other times it is exciting.  Jenna MacDonald’s father is in prison on McNeil Island in the middle of Puget Sound.  She is visiting her father with her mother, brother and grandparents. The family is embarrassed that Jenna’s father is in prison and they don’t want anyone to know. They recently moved in with her grandparents to be close to the prison.

Jenna jumps into the water to save a little girl who is drowning.  Her family is upset because they don’t want anyone to give them attention.  They don’t want anyone to know why they are there.  The newspaper writes a story about Jenna saving a little girl from drowning.  This upsets the family.

Jenna has a hard time in the new school.  She has a secret about her father she can’t tell anyone.  She is half American Indian.  She tries to join groups but has a hard time.

Jenna’s wish is to be able to tell everyone about her father.  She starts being friends with one of The Snoops but another one learns about her father being in prison.  They vote to not have Jenna in the group.  Then a boyfriend of one of The Snoops tells everyone that his real dad is in prison too.  This changes everything.

I enjoyed reading about Jenna.  It was sad a lot of the time.  I wanted Jenna to have lots of friends.  I liked the story so much I am going to read “An Inmate’s Daughter” again.

Reviewed by Kim Peterson for Reader Views (2/06)

Jenna MacDonald didn’t mean to do anything wrong when she plunged into Puget Sound to save a little girl from drowning. She just reacted on instinct. She had been rescuing her rather hyper younger brother in their neighborhood swimming pool for years without her mother knowing.

But Jenna’s mother is upset because her actions have called attention to their family. The rescue occurred at McNeil Island boat dock during a visit to Jenna’s father who is serving time in prison. Now, the paper wants to run a story and the McNeil Island Corrections Center wants to investigate how it happened.

When her dad was transferred to this site, Jenna’s family moved, too. Now they live with her grandparents and Jenna is adjusting to a new school. She feels confused by her mother’s anger and insistence that they keep her dad’s situation private. Jenna wants to talk to someone about it. She wants to feel like she belongs to a whole family.

Jenna’s grandparents encourage her to make friends and to enjoy life. But junior high is tough and Jenna, who is half Native American, struggles to find her niche. When she tries to join one of the racially- mixed “in” groups, they ask questions about her family bringing the tensions between Jenna’s need for acceptance and her mother’s desire for secrecy to a head.

More than two million American children wrestle with the stigma of an incarcerated parent. Few of these children receive the assistance they need to cope with their situation. Walker’s book takes on a tough topic. Her book informs and encourages young adult readers so they can support their peers.

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