All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook audiobook

4.5 stars. Now this is what I like to see in a middle grade novel. Yes, there are tough issues and real world problems, but that doesn't mean it has to be depressing! Perry sees a lot of injustice, both in the formal legal sense and in his personal relationships. He gets angry, he gets sad. But he also fights, has hope, and builds off of the support he gets from some amazing friends (I love the characters in this book--the variety and strength in each is awesome.) The writing is excellent with several key details I appreciated. For instance, while with his foster family, Perry never refers to anything as his, just "the room he's staying in" or "the bed they let him use" and so forth. Home is with his mother. Speaking of, the addition of chapters from Jessica's perspective, while I thought odd at first, provide fantastic perspective to the story. I enjoyed her character's voice. And while the ending is totally predictable, I still love a happy ending (*heartfelt sigh*).I wish I could've given it the full five stars, but there are some odd gaps, jumps, and skips. For instance: Brian, the token bully character, has too quick of turnaround. The depth behind his change of heart is missing. Also, Perry's father. Jessica shares her fond memories of him and how wonderful he was...but she never told him about his son, Perry? I wish she had just put in one sentence about why she cut ties. Small complaints, really. I'm getting picky about details.Honestly, on the whole, I loved this book and will be quick to recommend it. The legalese and making-a-family-with-those-around-you theme makes me think of Three Times Lucky, while the fight for family and strong main character is like Some Kind of Courage. Really though, this is a pretty unique book and topic. Go and read!

CW: (view spoiler)[Jessica is serving time in jail for manslaughter (car accident that killed her father), another inmate tried to scare a robber with a gun and the kid fled onto the street and got killed by a car (hide spoiler)]Well that was a thoroughly entertaining and heartwarming middle school novel!The 'found family' storyline was so sincere and warm and I loved that part of the novel. I really valued Jessica's point of view as her love and hopes for their future pulled at my parent heart strings. Perry was such an open and gutsy kid and his determination to show that his upbringing in a prison was one filled with love and support drove the story forward brilliantly. A great middle school novel!

At first I was like nah.....not going to like this novel, it is too unrealistic. There is no way a child would be allowed to be raised in a minimum security prison. But, as the story developed, the author raised so many important issues and relationships that my original thinking was overtaken. I ❤️ the protagonist Perry, who despite being bullied, handles himself with grace and pride. His bully is Brian Morris who grows out of being a bully. The author shows this by allowing Brian to take time to understand people's stories. I also loved how Perry helped his Mom's parole hearing by learning how to tell his story through video and voice over,a kind of "genius hour" project. This book would be a jumping off point if one would want to do more research on the problems of the US prison system and its lack of recidivism rate.

This is my favorite MG book for the year. It is funny, sad, and much more. Most of all it is a really interesting book. Perry lives in a jail, Blue River, a minimum-security facility. The warden allowed it, and he lives there since he was born. His mother is an inmate, that made a few mistakes. She was accused with manslaughter. She drove drunk, got into an accident and a man was killed. The warden lives with the following belief: minimum security has always meant maximum potential. Our residents have made mistakes. But they come here to rise up again, and make good choices.Perry moves to the “outside” world, in spite of his good life in Blue River, where his family resides for years. The new district attorney decided that this is not a place for a kid, and he takes him away. His mother waiting for a parole hearing that now got delayed (related to Perry staying there with her?). His visitations are now limited too. Perry doesn't know much about the crime, and he goes searching for the truth, trying to help his mother. You are going to fall in love with Perry. So be prepared. Engaging book, that loses points only for being too good to be true. (view spoiler)[His mother is not guilty at all, she confessed to protect someone else. I think the book could be better if she was guilty, because it would be more reasonable. In addition of getting a sports watch from the accident twelve years later from the person that recovered the stuff from the accident and somehow kept it, and found it in a moment's notice (hide spoiler)]. 4 solid stars, that could be 5, if it wasn't too perfectly wrapped up.

Two sentence summary: Engaging story about a boy somewhat unlawfully raised in a prison who is found out and then sent to live with the DA who is delaying his mother's parole hearing. Think of a cross between One For the Murphys and Orange is the New Black.Perhaps my favorite aspect of this story is how Leslie Connor portrays the primary villain, District Attorney Thomas VanLeer. VanLeer is evil, but his type of evil is so evil not even he is aware of just how evil he is. VanLeer is a liar and a belittler. For example, when talking to Perry about Perry's arrangement in prison, VanLeer says, "Well, it might have seemed fine, but it wasn't right. I wouldn't make you try to understand that, Perry, that's the stuff we grown-ups have to sort out."And perhaps that's the most fascinating part about VanLeer: he has ripped a son from a mother, he is an obstructionist and an obfuscator, and at the end of the day, he's still convinced he's doing the right thing for the right reasons and that the ends will justify the means. VanLeer (and to a lesser extent, Perry's encarcerated mother) provide middle grades readers with fascinating character studies about when it's okay to lie to somebody and what doing the right thing can really mean. I also appreciated Connor's attempts to write an uplifting family story about prisons and prisoners that would be appropriate for an elementary school audience. I think here is where Connor struggles the most -- enter World's Most Unlikely Parole Hearing and World's Most Sympathetic Reason to be Incarcerated -- but I liked how she weaved a few darker ideas into the text for some older readers. This includes, for example, the number of prisoners Perry and the other prisoners refer to as the Cold Ones because they're so emotionally detached, and the constant awareness of others' privacy around their stories, and examples of some prisoners who made poor judgements earlier in life and are now paying for it. Some readers might be daunted by the length (344 pages) and others might get confused at the occasional point of view switches to Perry's mom. Still, I'm really intrigued to know what students will think of this one.... the prison setting makes it more interesting to students who otherwise might not pick up middle grades books.

Prachtig verhaal over het gevangenisleven, vriendschap/familie en het hebben van een thuis. Meer nog is het een verhaal over mensen, hoe zij kunnen veranderen, ook al zitten ze "binnen de poort".•De 11-jarige Perry is opgegroeid in de Blue Rivergevangenis in Surprise, Nebraska. Zijn moeder zit daar een straf van 15 jaar uit. Hij wordt plots door een ijverige OvJ in diens huis gehaald "want een gevangenis is geen huis voor een kind". Perry gaat naar de brugklas (in de VS zijn ze jaar eerder dan NL) waar hij een goede vriendin Zoey heeft. Voor een schoolproject moeten ze over hun afkomst vertellen en Perry besluit de gevangenisbewoners voor het eerst naar hun Blue Riververhalen te vragen (vanwege hun privacy was hij daar nooit op uit). Zo leert hij ook zijn moeders verhaal kennen.• Blijkbaar speelt Perry's vader voor hem geen rol, er worden nauwelijks vragen over hem gesteld. Als lezer wilde ik dat plaatje compleet hebben maar voor de hoofdpersoon klopte het.Ik vond niet dat er vanuit een Nederlander bezien erg veel verschil was tussen NL-Amerikaans systeem. Geen horrortoestanden in de gevangenis, want beperkt beveiligde gemengde instelling. Ook wordt er geen nadruk gelegd op school, waardoor het voor een Nederlands kind goed leesbaar is.•Wat me zeer verraste was dat dit boek in de bieb een B-exemplaar is. Ik vond het een stevige C, geschikt vanaf brugklas.

Engaging and unique, this book had such incredible potential. Since when have you read an elementary school novel where the protagonist was raised in a minimum-security facility? I started out loving the book, laughing out loud and thinking, "Can't wait to share this." By the end I was clicking off stars if you will for just too much. There was just too much coincidence. There was just too much radical change and too many of the same stories of "innocence". The penal system didn't come out looking good at all and neither in a broad sense did lawyers. With a realistic setting, I guess I expected more realism. Perry Cook is an amazing kid and the philosophies weaving throughout the story are uplifting if you will and meant to be foundation beliefs for anyone. It is a statement about how impressionable children truly are and the value of teaching them while young. I felt that the book needs adult supervision and input.

What it's all about...Perry T. Cook has lived in a minimum security prison with his mom ever since he was born. He is exceptionally happy. His bedroom is next to the warden's office and he has incredible relationships with many of the inmates. The warden's niece takes him to school, he has little jobs at the prison, he is smart and well adjusted. He and his mom look forward to the day when she will be paroled and they will have a house of their own. And then...a wrench is thrown into Perry's lovely life. A new DA doesn't think Perry should be living at this prison and without warning...Perry is packed up and gone! Why I wanted to read it...This book just sounded lovely...sweet and sad and funny and lovely. I have a fondness for middle grade books. This is truly a beautiful one. What made me truly enjoy this book...Perry was the character who resonated with me. He was so happy with what he had. I loved the way he and his mom would get excited when they had a chance to eat steamed broccoli in the prison's small kitchen. And later...when Perry wasn't living at the prison any more...he brought her broccoli as if it was a bunch of flowers! Teary eyed...Why you should read it, too...This is a lovely book about injustice, compassion and even redemption. Readers who enjoy sweet books like this will cheer for Perry and his mom!

Great book! While the premise of the story is highly unlikely, the author took a "what if" approach and told a great story. Good writing, fleshed out (and believable) main characters. I'm going to have to try another book by Leslie Connor.

Despite the improbable setting and events there were many touching things about this book. Talking about the story would be a good way to get kids to re-examine some preconceived values. I think that the target audience is probably Grade 5-Grade-8.