#BookReview: Address: House of Corrections - Monice Mitchell Simms

From Locust Grove, Georgia to Detroit, Michigan, the debut novel from Monice Mitchell Simms is a journey that grabs a hold of you from page one and doesn't let you go until the end.  Even then, you'll be begging for more.

Address: House of Corrections opens with the main character's, Merry, release from prison in 1965.  Through a series of flashbacks, we learn that Merry and her brother Johnson have been raised by their grandmother in the south until events force them to relocate to Detroit and the mother that abandoned them shortly after birth.  Immediately fascinated with the sporting life her Aunt Teenie lives, Merry falls in with a bad crowd and sets the course for her life.

Having been abandoned by her own mother, one would think that Merry would take steps to insure that the same does not happen with her own kids.  But much like her mother, Merry finds herself chasing after some thing and someone, leaving her kids to be raised like her mother in a history repeating cycle.

What did you like about this book?
It was extremely well written.  The characters are very believable and you find yourself wanting to know more about them.  I was especially fascinated by the mother's relationship with her son versus her daughter.  It is said that in the African American community mothers love their sons and raise their daughters.  The author completely comprehends that and uses it to her advantage in telling the story.

What didn't you like about this book?
I honestly could not find anything to dislike.

What could the author do to improve this book?
The author provides an excerpt from the follow up book in the back of this book.  I'm going to need her to keep writing so that I can read the sequel sooner than later.

Disclosure: A copy of this book was provided by the author.

401pp
Published March 2010



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