All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook by Leslie Connor

Perry is an unusual boy.  He's grown up inside a prison and he loves his life there.  He has his own room, he goes to school, he has lots of friends and his mother is there.  It's an odd situation but it's normal to him.  Until things change...

Katherine Tegen Books sent me an ARC of this book for review (thank you).  It's being published today.

The warden is Perry's guardian.  I really enjoyed reading about his friends he's made.  When he's pulled out of the prison and put into a foster home, he's very upset.  He feels physically ill from the loss of his mother's love and attention.  But he has no choice...

He decides he's going to make his class project about the people in the jail.  He'll only write the stories they wish to share with him.  He really wants his mother's story and he gets it, but he knows it's not the whole truth.

Perry is a very determined boy and he's learned a lot from the friends at the prison.  He keeps looking into his mother's case until he finds out what she's hiding.

The foster home he ends up in is the District Attorney's.  He's friends with the daughter but he doesn't like the man any better than she does.  A stepdad who thinks he knows everything doesn't sit well with them.  When Perry tests him, he finds the man is not looking at his mom's file after all.  He said he was, but he's not.  So Perry has to find a way to help her get her parole so they can be together again.

Joy and sorrow are mixed in this book but it's one that keeps you reading and makes you smile at the end.  Never give up.  You don't know what will work and what won't but doing something is better than quitting.  Look what that did for Perry!