I am reviewing books through the Blogging for Books program in an effort to support my community’s Little Free Library, thus the addition of book reviews outside of the usual sexual health topics to Your Sexy Librarian postings. After being reviewed, the book gets stamped “Always a Gift, Never for Sale” and placed into a Little Free Library for others to enjoy.
Convicted by Jameel McGee and Andrew Collins with Mark Tabb, which was released on September 19, 2017, is the story of two men, one an overzealous police officer who eventually becomes corrupt and the other a new father truthfully in the wrong place at the wrong time who becomes a victim of the other man’s corrosive and unlawful behavior. There is an element of racial tension in Convicted that is not sugar-coated nor ignored.
Tabb is a well-known collaborative American writer with more than thirty books to his credit who helps weave together the story of McGee and Collins. Convicted shares incredible life lessons, from the consequences of dishonest public servants to how race profiling impacts the innocent to how forgiveness can empower an individual, in simple terms and uses language that is accessible to a vast majority of readers across many age groups. Even some advanced elementary readers will be able to comprehend the concepts presented in Convicted, which is good because young readers should read Convicted simply to better understand how poor life choices can impact not only an individual but those he comes in contact with as well.
The message conveyed in Convicted is shrouded by a Christian slant that is continually pushed in the book’s content. Editing out some of this slant out could make Convicted even more appealing to a wider reading audience and might more easily allow this compelling story of forgiveness to have a place in mainstream classrooms.
The cover of Convicted is a perfect depiction of what lies within. Both McGee and Collins served time in prison, which is conveyed through the cover photography and layout which is reminiscence of men walking around a prison yard. The back cover copy beautifully summarizes the novel as well. Chapters are split between McGee and Collins, which allows the story to unfold simultaneously and fluidly from two points of view.
A hardcover copy of Convicted is priced at $21.99. A Kindle edition is available from Amazon for $11.99.
Disclaimer: I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.
XOXO,
