Yes, it is one of my blog posts about a Walter Dean Myers book... again. I have a thing about Walter Dean Myers after hearing him speak a couple of times, and he seems very interesting. We also have a shared interest in teenagers and the criminal justice system. Anyhow, here is another one.

Lockdown by Walter Dean Myers, 2010

With names like Icy, Toon, Play, and King Kong, you might wonder what's happening. Icy... is a trip. At nine years old, she is glad that Hillary Clinton didn't win the presidential election, since that affords her the opportunity to be the first female president. As a back-up plan, she'll settle for attending Princeton University and a career as a doctor or lawyer.

Reese, a teenager in a juvy (juvenile) jail called Progress, is in for illegally selling prescription drugs. He made the astute observation that inmates who didn't like "silent" lockdowns were the same guys who were on the meds lines in the morning. They probably liked the noise to drown out their auditory hallucinations. Lockdowns require the inmates to be locked in their cells. They are unpredictable and can happen at any moment, and inmates are expected to return to their cells immediately. Lockdowns could be ordered in response to any security threat, including a fight or the discovery of contraband (any substance that is not allowed in prison, including cash, which is considered to be dangerous as a result of the items that it can buy.)

Police brutality; a racist nursing home resident at Evergreen, where Reese is lucky enough to work at in order to break up the monotony of prison life; fights that you simply get caught up in; Icy's grey kitten Sheba with a white spot on her neck; the failed suicide attempts of inmates... How you do break free?

Lockdown by Walter Dean Myers, 2010 

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