Reviews:

"An Inmate's Daughter Jenna's Dad lives in a prison of mortar and wire, but her Mom is trapped in a prison of secrecy. Years of trying to raise two kids alone and make enough money to support them has embittered Jennaís mom, and a move to live with her parents both helps and makes things worse. Jenna and her grandfather are the most interesting characters in this story about compromise and truth, yet they all represent in some way the painful choices that families in these situations must make.

It's easy to slip into Jenna's feelings about her life because the reader moves with her through typical adolescent concerns of making new friends, arguing with her mom, caring for her brother. Knowing her on this level helps to understand her fear of exposing herself and her family to the prejudice of those who victimize the relatives of a convicted criminal. Yet, its the impossibility of keeping quiet about Jenna's rescue of a drowning child that breaks open the silence. Her mom is forced to accept living openly with the reality of her husband's incarceration, though she is still bitter and despairing of the outcomes. Jenna, though, is free to live with the same truth on her own terms, and she is free to become more than an inmate's daughter. The gentle moral that its the criminal alone who should be jailed is clearly woven throughout, but it doesn't take away from the story's impact. Jenna is someone you'd like to know."
Diane Carver Sekeres, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education, University of Alabama - Tuscaloosa

"Jenna MacDonald is a normal 13-year-old girl at Howard Middle School—with a big secret. Her dad is doing time for murder at McNeil Island Prison. He has a degree in psychology, woodcarving talents, and Indian heritage, and Jenna is proud of who he is, but is ashamed of where he is. Her mother Lynn is a woman who believes everyone judges the worst and misses the best. She has imposed a "don't tell" rule that leaves Jenna struggling to be honest with new friends and find the freedom she is searching for. An incident on visiting day at the prison ignites a chain of events: Jenna save a little girl who falls off the dock, but it ultimately exposes her secret.

There is a substory that deals with racial tension in middle school and explores the topics of gangs. I don't know how much of the dialog will ring true for students reading this, but the topics are important and timely. For younger YA's who have parents in prison, this book brings to light the reality that kids do time too."
Heather Rader, Teacher, Libn., Meadows Elem. Sch., Lacey, WA

"I really liked An Inmate's Daughter, and I think it will make a very valuable contribution to the field. The author captured all of the fundamental psychological crises that children of incarcerated parents struggle with every day, and she did it in a context of typical early adolescent development."
Ann Adalist-Estrin, M.S., Child and Family Therapist, Jenkintown, PA, and Author, Consultant, and Trainer, National Resource Center on Children of Incarcerated Parents, Family and Corrections Network

"A gripping story of a young teen whose father is in prison and whose mother insists that be kept a secret. Jan Walker's story brings a new and compassionate view of families in this kind of challenging and difficult situation."
Eve Begley Kiehm author of Plantation Child and Other Stories

"Jenna MacDonald didn’t mean to do anything wrong when she plunged into Puget Sound to save a little girl from drowning. She just reacted on instinct. She had been rescuing her rather hyper younger brother in their neighborhood swimming pool for years without her mother knowing.

But Jenna’s mother is upset because her actions have called attention to their family. The rescue occurred at McNeil Island boat dock during a visit to Jenna’s father who is serving time in prison. Now, the paper wants to run a story and the McNeil Island Corrections Center wants to investigate how it happened.

When her dad was transferred to this site, Jenna’s family moved, too. Now they live with her grandparents and Jenna is adjusting to a new school. She feels confused by her mother’s anger and insistence that they keep her dad’s situation private. Jenna wants to talk to someone about it. She wants to feel like she belongs to a whole family.

Jenna’s grandparents encourage her to make friends and to enjoy life. But junior high is tough and Jenna, who is half Native American, struggles to find her niche. When she tries to join one of the racially- mixed “in” groups, they ask questions about her family bringing the tensions between Jenna’s need for acceptance and her mother’s desire for secrecy to a head.

More than two million American children wrestle with the stigma of an incarcerated parent. Few of these children receive the assistance they need to cope with their situation. Walker’s book takes on a tough topic. Her book informs and encourages young adult readers so they can support their peers."
Kim Peterson for Reader Views (2/06)

An Inmate's Daughter is a fictional account of the reality faced by over 2 million American children with a parent in prison or jail. The children are doing time too.