Endangered
By Jean Love Cush
Hardcover: 272
pages
Publisher: Amistad
(Harper Collins)
Release
Date: July 1, 2014
Genre:
Fiction/African American/Legal Thriller
ISBN: 9780062316233
About the book:
To save her son from a legal system bent on sending African
American men to jail, a young mother agrees to an unprecedented, controversial
defense offered up from a team of crack lawyers, in this debut novel that
speaks to race, class, and justice in America.
Janae Williams, a never-missed-a-day-of-work single mother,
has devoted her whole life to properly raising her son. From the time Malik
could walk, Janae taught him that the best way to stay alive and out of trouble
with the law was to cooperate. Terrified for his safety, she warned him to
“raise your hands high, keep your mouth shut, and do whatever they say” if
stopped by the police. But when a wave of murders hits Philadelphia and
fifteen-year-old Malik is arrested, Janae’s terror is compounded by guilt and
doubt: Would Malik be in jail if he had run?
Blocked at every turn from seeing her son, Janae is also
unable to afford adequate legal representation. In steps the well-meaning Roger
Whitford, a lawyer who wants to use Malik’s case to upend the entire criminal
justice system. Janae simply wants her son free, but Roger, with the help of an
ambitious private attorney, is determined to expose the system’s hostility
toward black boys.
Offering a startling and unprecedented defense, the lawyers
spark a national firestorm of debate over race, prison, and politics. As Janae
battles to save her son, she begins to discover that she is also fighting for
her own survival and that of the future of her community.
Praise for Endangered
“[An] engaging debut. . . . Cush has crafted a compassionate
story that commands the reader’s attention.” —Publishers Weekly
“…frightening and realistic…Cush makes a passionate argument
for the defense of young men whose only crimes were being born black in
America.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Jean Love Cush fashions a far-reaching, thought-provoking
tale from the kind of tragedy found any day on local newscasts and in the small
type of big-city newspapers.” —Michael A. Fletcher, author of Being a
Black Man in America and Supreme Discomfort
Sample Courtesy of Harper Collins:
Sample Courtesy of Harper Collins:
About
Jean Love Cush
A native of Philadelphia, Jean Love Cush worked for the
Philadelphia district attorney’s office directly out of law school before
spending three years as a family law attorney helping low-income women escape
domestic-abuse situations.
After moving to Fort Wayne, Indiana, she hosted a
weekly radio show called A View from Summit, where she covered such topics
as public safety, urban violence, and inner-city education. Cush now lives in
Illinois with her husband and two children.
Jean’s
Tour Stops
Tuesday, July 1st: Turn
the Page
Wednesday, July 2nd: Chaotic
Compendiums
Thursday, July 3rd: A
Book Geek
Monday, July 7th: Joyfully
Retired
Wednesday, July 9th: FictionZeal
Thursday, July 10th: Books on
the Table
Monday, July 14th: Between
the Covers
Tuesday, July 15th: Pearls
& Hoses
Thursday, July 17th: Veronica
M.D.
Monday, July 21st: Priscilla and Her Books
Tuesday, July 22nd: Giraffe
Days
Wednesday, July 23rd: The many thoughts of a
reader
Thursday, July 24th: Queen of All She Reads
Thursday, July 24th: Literally Jen
Friday, July 25th: Back Porchervations
Thanks for featuring this book for the tour.
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