The Girl in Cell 49B is the story of Emily Calby, aka Alice Black, who has been on the run and in hiding for the past 3 years after a home invasion killed her mother and sister. Alice was the lone survivor in the tragedy. She met and was staying with Lucas, a father-figure type who had been helping protect her. On her 16th birthday, Lucas gave Alice an illegal handgun, which she was later caught with, arrested, and sent to a juvenile detention center. The fingerprints on the gun also prove that Alice is Emily, and she is wanted in another state for murder.
While in juvenile prison, Emily spends her time in the law library trying to avoid as many people as possible, laying low until her trial to remain as anonymous as possible, and trying to learn as much as she can to help herself in her case. Her cellmate, Rebecca, becomes her friend and ally, but also opens Emily’s eyes to some of the corruption happing within the juvenile center. Emily is not only fighting for her life inside the courtroom, but she is trying to protect the lives of the other inmates from the imminent danger the center holds.
By the time I was 30% into this book, I was hooked and didn’t want to stop reading. I thought Emily was a strong, brave, clever character and she was learning more about herself each day as her trial got closer and closer. I loved that the chapters were pretty short, which I think makes a book go by even faster. I also loved that Mr. Box, a former law professor, used and described law lingo that helped enhance the story and kept the reader in the loop of what was happening throughout the book. This made kind of me feel like I was in the courtroom listening to the testimony.
I really appreciated how full circle the book was at the end. Everything tied together nicely, everything felt finished, and at the same time, I could see (and am hoping for) a third book in the future. This book was full of tension, emotion, and hold-your-breath moments. Very well done.
Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who likes legal thrillers. I don’t know that I would classify this as YA, even though the characters are teenagers. I feel the content of the story is more for adults, though there was nothing too horrible or graphic that wouldn’t be appropriate for a teenager. I just think that the content was heavy.
Trigger warnings to be aware of: rape, attempted rape of a minor, drugs and alcohol, abuse, gangs, mentions of incest. Reader discretion advised.
While in juvenile prison, Emily spends her time in the law library trying to avoid as many people as possible, laying low until her trial to remain as anonymous as possible, and trying to learn as much as she can to help herself in her case. Her cellmate, Rebecca, becomes her friend and ally, but also opens Emily’s eyes to some of the corruption happing within the juvenile center. Emily is not only fighting for her life inside the courtroom, but she is trying to protect the lives of the other inmates from the imminent danger the center holds.
By the time I was 30% into this book, I was hooked and didn’t want to stop reading. I thought Emily was a strong, brave, clever character and she was learning more about herself each day as her trial got closer and closer. I loved that the chapters were pretty short, which I think makes a book go by even faster. I also loved that Mr. Box, a former law professor, used and described law lingo that helped enhance the story and kept the reader in the loop of what was happening throughout the book. This made kind of me feel like I was in the courtroom listening to the testimony.
I really appreciated how full circle the book was at the end. Everything tied together nicely, everything felt finished, and at the same time, I could see (and am hoping for) a third book in the future. This book was full of tension, emotion, and hold-your-breath moments. Very well done.
Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who likes legal thrillers. I don’t know that I would classify this as YA, even though the characters are teenagers. I feel the content of the story is more for adults, though there was nothing too horrible or graphic that wouldn’t be appropriate for a teenager. I just think that the content was heavy.
Trigger warnings to be aware of: rape, attempted rape of a minor, drugs and alcohol, abuse, gangs, mentions of incest. Reader discretion advised.