Prisoner 88

This is a good historical fiction book for younger readers. Jake Evans is convicted of manslaughter at age ten. He is sent to the Idaho Territorial Penitentiary to serve his 5 year sentence. But the prison is not equipt to handle having such a young inmate. Jake meets a variety of characters during his incarceration and he learns how to survive in the prison setting. But he also is allowed to take a job, and have a couple more privledges than most of the other inmates, including having his own pet.

These types of fringe benefits also breed irritation with the other inmates so Jake has another obstacle to overcome. He must figure out how to survive, and be viewed as not a threat from either inmate or guard, so he can last out his 5 years. The allows for you to think about what life was like for this boy and really allows you to get inside his head.