From Grace to Hell

LUCY GRANT

Stats for my copy: Kindle edition, 2019.

How acquired: Via NetGalley.

(For the Goodreads synopsis, scroll to the bottom of this post.)

My thoughts: This book is horrible. I rarely write bad reviews, especially for newly published books or debuting authors. But all the other reviews on Amazon - all five of them - are five star reviews. I can only assume the reviewers are either friends of the author, or pseudo reviewers who trade glowing reviews for free books. So I feel honor bound to warn others.

Since I got my copy via NetGalley it may be an ARC, and you have to make allowances for some editing errors in those. But even an uncorrected proof should not be this bad. On one page, in the space of three short paragraphs, the word “walked” appeared five times. She walked to the table...she walked outside...he walked out, then walked back in, then walked out again. Too much! And that’s just one example.

The premise is interesting, if a little far fetched. It’s what made me want to read the book. Grace has worked in her grandfather’s feedlot since she was a teenager, and supervises his ranch hands. (Though I find it hard to believe her claim that her name was on more contracts than her grandfather’s when she was fifteen. In what state can a fifteen year old sign contracts?) Grandpa dies and leaves her money, but leaves the ranch and all his business to her brothers, because she needs to get off the ranch, go to college and get married. So she contests his will on the grounds that she was excluded because she's a woman. Except throughout the book it’s referred to as “protesting” the will. Well, maybe in the state she lives that is the legal term but when I googled “protest will” everything came up as “contest”. But what do I know.

I pretty much hated Grace. I get that she was terribly upset at the way her grandfather (who I also hated) screwed her out of his will, but good god, that's no reason to act like a spoiled child. I hated the way she used Mason. She admits to herself over and over that she is using him and expresses guilt, but then she just continues to use him. And I'm not a prude, I have no problem with characters cussing, but the nasty things Grace and  her brother yelled at each really turned me off. Again, there's no reason to act like a spoiled child. 

There are sooooo many other things I could point out but suffice it to say the book obviously has not met an editor, and desperately needs to. It’s only 99 cents for Kindle, but the paperback is $10, and if I had paid $10 for this drivel I would be demanding my money back. Plus punitive damages.

And that interesting premise? At the end of the book is a twist in grandpa’s will, that just ruined the whole premise and made everything pointless. And then there's another twist, that was also pointless.

Goodreads synopsis: Lawsuits, rivalry, revenge... Welcome to the family.Grace has always been a fighter. As single woman running one of the most successful cattle ranches in the country, she's had to deal with surly ranch hands, crooked lawyers, jealous siblings... It's a full time job, but that hasn't stopped Grace from enjoying some no-strings-attached fun with a smoking hot country boy who's madly in love with her...Then tragedy strikes. Grace's grandfather passes away, and her entire life is turned upside down. Adam, her power-hungry brother, inherits the ranch, and kicks Grace off the property. The young woman soon finds herself in the fight of her life, as she struggles preserve what she's built, and maintain her grandfather's legacy.As the ranch suffers from Adam's corrupt mismanagement, their legal battle takes a dark turn into threats and violence. Grace refuses to back down, and she's willing to use every dirty trick in the book to protect what's hers...But when she pushes her conniving brother too far, will another tragedy rock her family?Get ready for a romantic thriller packed with shocking twists, edge- of-your-seat suspense, steamy sex, and a surprise ending you'll never see coming.

Sleepers

LORENZO CARCATERRA

Stats for my copy: Trade paperback, Arrow Books, 1996.

How acquired: Via BookCrossing.

First line: I sat across the table from the man who had battered and tortured and brutalized me nearly thirty years ago.

(For the Goodreads synopsis, scroll to the bottom of this post.)

My thoughts: The kind of book where you don't really want to say you enjoyed it, given the subject matter and the fact that it's nonfiction (although I've read some dissenting views regarding that, but more on that later), but it was definitely captivating. And during the part of the book set at the Wilkinson School for Boys, a nice way of saying juvenile detention center or reform school, there were times when I felt anxious and dreaded the next few pages. I don't think a book has ever done that to me before.

We meet Lorenzo “Shakes” and his three best friends when they are all around 11-14 years old (if I'm remembering correctly). The author tells us how the four became fast friends while living in Hell's Kitchen, and takes us through a lot of their escapades, up until the fateful practical joke that lands a passerby in the hospital. Up until then it's almost a warm amusing memoir of schoolboy antics. But it definitely takes a very dark turn when the four boys are sent to Wilkinson. From there we follow the boys as they are abused by the guards, physically, emotionally and sexually. Those are some of the scenes that gutted me, and were hard to read at times.

Once the boys are released, we jump into the future, and follow the boys, now men, as two of them kill one of the former guards, and the other two devise an elaborate plan to tilt the trial in their favor and convince a jury to find the killers not guilty. I understand the deep friendship that led to this, but considering the two who killed the guards have killed others before that, and probably went on to kill others after that...well, it's a shaky moral line to be straddling.

Usually after I read a book that's also a movie, I like to watch the movie. This one, I'm not so sure I want to see these events played out in front of me. Although, Brad Pitt and Jeffrey Donovan! 

Shakes grows up to become a journalist, and his writing is superb, with the words flowing across the page. He has quite a few other books in his backlist, fiction and nonfiction, and I plan to keep an eye out for them.

After the book's release, there was a lot of debate about whether or not it was in fact a true story, with naysayers claiming there was no record of any court case/trial like the one in the book. True or not, the book is worth reading. You can find a New York Times article here.

Goodreads synopsis: Sleeper (colloq.): 1. out-of-town hit man who spends the night after a local contract is completed. 2. A juvenile sentenced to serve any period longer than nine months in a state-managed facility.

This is the story of four young boys. Four lifelong friends. Intelligent, fun-loving, wise beyond their years, they are inseparable. Their potential is unlimited, but they are content to live within the closed world of New York City's Hell's Kitchen. And to play as many pranks as they can on the denizens of the street. They never get caught. And they know they never will. Until one disastrous summer afternoon. On that day, what begins as a harmless scheme goes horribly wrong. And the four find themselves facing a year's imprisonment in the Wilkinson Home for Boys. The oldest of them is fifteen, the youngest twelve. What happens to them over the course of that year -- brutal beatings, unimaginable humiliation -- will change their lives forever. Years later, one becomes a lawyer. One a reporter. And two have grown up to be murderers, professional hit men. For all of them, the pain and fear of Wilkinson still rages within. Only one thing can erase it. Revenge. To exact it, they will twist the legal system. Commandeer the courtroom for their agenda. Use the wiles they observed on the streets, the violence they learned at Wilkinson. If they get caught this time, they only have one thing left to lose: their lives.

SLEEPERS is the extraordinary true story of four men who take the law into their own hands. It is a searing portrait of a system gone awry and of the people -- some innocent, some not so innocent -- who must suffer the consequences. At the heart of SLEEPERS is a sensational murder trial that ultimately gives devastating, yet exhilarating, proof of street justice and truly defines the meaning of loyalty and love between friends. Told with great humor and compassion, even at its most harrowing, SLEEPERS is an unforgettable reading experience. 

Accidental Activist: Justice for the Groveland Four

JOSH VENKATARAMAN AND BARBARA VENKATARAMAN

Stats for my copy: PDF, 2019.

How acquired: Gifted to me by Barbara Venkataraman

(For the Goodreads synopsis, scroll to the bottom of this post.)

My thoughts:  I had never heard of the Groveland Four until this book. Of course, I don't live in Florida or even very near Florida, so maybe that isn't too surprising. Actually, there are a lot of things I've never heard of, especially since I cut the cable cord and no longer have CNN. But that's not really relevant here.

The Groveland Four were four young black men falsely accused of rape by a white girl in 1949. Two were convicted and imprisoned, two were murdered before they could be convicted – one by a lynch mob, one by a crooked sheriff. After reading “Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America”, by Gilbert King, for a class, Josh Venkataraman was inspired to step up and try to help seek justice for the Groveland Four and their families. After reading his book, I admire Josh very much!

The book is only about 80 pages long (at least the PDF version I read anyway), but covers a lot of ground. Josh takes us step by step through the ever changing process of setting up a petition, getting signatures, gaining support, all in hopes of clearing the names of the four boys and providing their families with some peace of mind. Along the way he inspired others to join the fight. This was an interesting read, and while justice eventually prevails, it still saddens me that this incident in Florida's history happened in the first place. And unfortunately I'm sure there were similar incidents happening all around the country, where justice did not and never will prevail.

The writing flows easily, and I loved the friendship that developed between Josh and Carol, the daughter of one of the four. She was just a baby when her sixteen-year-old father was incarcerated, though she didn't find out what actually happened until much later in life. But how horrible to have to grow up with your father taken away, and then learning he never should have been taken away in the first place.

An inspiring and ultimately heartwarming account of what can be accomplished with a lot of hard work and perseverance.

Goodreads synopsis: This book will take you through my incredible four year quest for justice for The Groveland Four and teach you how to pursue your own causes, whatever they may be. It is a primer for positive action, a journey through Florida's past as well as its future. Some of the things you will learn: everything takes more time than you think, nothing ever goes according to plan, help can come from unexpected places, time is on your side, everyone is connected to everyone else, you can reach your tipping point for success and not even realize it, your goals can change along the way, and flexibility is key. Let's get started, shall we?

***Proceeds from the sale of this book will be used to establish "The Charles Greenlee Memorial Scholarship" to benefit a child with an incarcerated parent.