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The Warden's Daughter by Jerry Spinelli






The Warden's Daughter is a junior fiction novel by Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli. It was just published this year, but I'm optimistic about it being a Newbery contender for next year!

Sex: None. Cammie notices that men look at her best friend like she's "much older than she actually is."

Language: I don't remember any. If there was, it would have been very mild.

Drug/Alcohol Use: The biggest thing is that the book is set in the 70's and everyone smokes. Cammie's best friend smokes some, Cammie lights up in front of the trustee that works in her house, and all of the inmates smoke outside in the yard.

Violence/Gore/Frightening Scenes/Death: Cammie is an angry girl. Her mother was killed when she was a baby. The story revolves around how she feels about being motherless. Cammie's father is a warden at the prison, so she lives at the prison with him. She has friendships with some of the inmates. There is a lot of talk about a famous murderer who is at the prison. Also, there's a suicide in this book.

Final Note: Probably one of my favorite Jerry Spinelli books since Manic Magee. I think it was an accurate reflection of how a young motherless girl could feel. It also shows the humanity of people who are in prison. This book would definitely be an older junior fiction novel. I would recommend upper middle school, just because of content.

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