Forgive Me Not

June 26, 2023
Fifteen-year-old Violetta Chen-Samuels, who is half Black and half Chinese, has been in juvenile detention for 22 days, since her decision to drive home drunk from a party resulted in her seven-year-old sister Vivian’s death. Now, she’s awaiting her family’s judgment. If they forgive her, she can go home; if they don’t, she’ll be subject to an extended sentence or participation in the Trials, interactive experiences instituted 25 years ago meant to strengthen rehabilitation efforts and lower the possibility of repeat offenses. Via video, her queer 17-year-old brother Vince urges her to complete the Trials (“While as a family we don’t yet forgive you, we want to give you the opportunity to learn from this incident,” he says, as if reading from a script). As Violetta enters the Trials, Vince struggles with a drug dependency and blames himself for not being able to protect his sisters. Through Vince and Violetta’s resonant alternating perspectives, debut author Baker empathetically examines the harsh treatment of Black youth in the justice system, and its ripple-effect impact on the detainee’s family. Affecting depictions of Vince’s addiction and Violetta’s reform process contribute to the novel’s overarching interrogation of blame, guilt, and self-forgiveness. Ages 12–up. Agent: Jenni Ferrari-Adler, Union Literary.

October 1, 2023

Gr 8 Up-Fifteen-year-old Violetta Chen-Samuels is 22 days into detention for killing her seven-year-old sister in a drunk-driving chase to see her boyfriend. Her family is about to bestow judgment: pardon, Trials, or imprisonment. Debut novelist Baker reimagines a juvenile incarceration system (that already unjustly criminalizes BIPOC youth) in which "victims of (alleged) crimes [decide] the fate of those who committed them." Letta gets Trials: "We need you to...repent." Back at home, brother Vince is cracking under the pressure of being the seemingly perfect, oldest child. Collier's slightly scratchy voice heightens desperate Letta in crisis, embodying the gamut of precarious emotions and bewildered reactions. Holmes, who is mixed-race Chinese and Black like his character, makes his aural debut as Vince, regretful for not protecting his sisters, aching for empathy from friends and family. VERDICT A dynamic duo amplifies an already powerful novel about responsibility, justice, and family.

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