Mandatory Release

by Jess Riley

[Leah]

Jess Riley is a new author to me, someone I’ve never read before, although I do have one of her novels on my Kindle called All The Lonely People, but as soon as I saw her new novel Mandatory Release on Netgalley I was massively intrigued. A novel set in a prison? Say what?? Chick Lit fans may question reading a novel set in a prison but let me tell you, this is an amazing work of fiction.

The plot of the novel is two-fold, focusing on two workers at Lakeside Prison in Laurentide Bay. There’s Graham, who has recently ended up in a wheelchair and is just a wee bit cynical about the world, and then there’s Drew, who’s been hurt badly by someone she loves and has returned to Laurentide Bay to lick her wounds. They both knew each other in high school and end up re-connecting, but can either of these lost souls find what they’re desperately looking for?

I knew I was going to like Mandatory Release when I saw the dedication at the front, where Riley mentions that her parents met in prison and for a second I was gobsmacked until I read it wasn’t like that; her mom was a secretary, her dad a guard. From there on, the book was brilliant. I loved the differing view points from Graham, in first person, to Drew in third person. I found they complimented each other well despite being quite different. I thought Graham was awesome, you rarely find a disabled lead character in Chick/Lad Lit and this was a welcome addition because yes Graham was disabled but it wasn’t just about that. Graham was a fab character and it warmed my heart that Drew saw him as more than just a dude in a chair.

The prison setting was fascinating, not the backdrop you’d expect in Chick Lit, but it worked and it does make me wonder why writers are scared to use such backdrops. Riley has experience herself working in a prison and it was just such a wonderful insight into something we all believe is so awful. I found myself enjoying reading about Drew’s classes and I enjoyed getting to know her students, especially Leroy. Yeah, they’ve done bad things, absolutely so, but I like that they get a chance to get an education. I thoroughly enjoyed Mandatory Release, it was a brilliant insightful read. I’m so glad I read it, it’s the best book about prisons you’ll ever read!