Looking for JJ by Anne Cassidy

Like any other young woman, Alice Tully tries to have a normal sort of life, which means going to university, getting a job in a coffee shop, living in the community, finding a partner and maybe having a family on her own.

But this sound more like a plan rather than reality because something tragical happened to her six years ago. It was on the edge of the town towards Berwick Waters, on a lovely spring day. Like any other offender, she has been carefully vetted. It was the considered opinion of all those concerned that she poses no threat to children and accordingly she was released under licence and is currently living in a safe environement.

Now, Alice has to live in total secrecy for a number of years, maybe even longer. The social services decided that this would give her a chance to put her past behind her at last. This means total anonymity.

It seems quite difficult to start everything from scratch when the reporters show up, or the secret investigators are looking for someone who is supposed to no longer exists.

Who is Alice Tully ? What happened to her during her fairly unstable childhood ? Why did she had to spend six years in Monksgrove, a special detention centre for children ? What sort of mum was Carol Jones ?

The book is divided into four parts including twenty-seven chapters. I would say it's fairly easy to read. The chapters are quite shorts and the power play between the three young girls holds the suspense throughout the second part of the story. I was a bit confused at the beginning regarding the identity of the main character but then in the second part we get to understand about the circumstances of how it all happened on that day.

When I was reading it, I was in a state of anxiety because I could feel something was going to happen very soon. At the end, I did feel sorry for JJ because I could see what brought her to that day. It's a tragical novel about redemption and forgiveness and it raise the question about the future of a crime child offender. I found this book really fascinating and surprising and I shall recommend it because it asks a very important question : can a person change ?